Because I'm Me

{this moment}

2012-06-01T08:05:00.000-04:00

Kids Photos: Day 5

2012-06-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

This week I am featuring photos taken by my children. I often use images they've captured, but don't credit them enough for their work. This is their week.

Once again, images by my oldest son, taken over the last few months. Enjoy.

Kids Photos: Day 4

2012-05-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

This week I am featuring photos taken by my children. I often use images they've captured, but don't credit them enough for their work. This is their week.

This is the work of my eldest again. More of her images can be found here.

Please, share links to your kids photos in the comments. I'd love to feature some of them.
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Kids Photos: Day 3

2012-05-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

This week I am featuring photos taken by my children. I often use images they've captured, but don't credit them enough for their work. This is their week.

My youngest daughter is in the middle of her first photography class, a high school class she's taking online. In just a few short months she's learned more about aperture and all that technical stuff than I've learned in years of taking pictures.

I love the image above, of our table and chairs.

Kids Photos: Day 2

2012-05-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

This week I am featuring photos taken by my children. I often use images they've captured, but don't credit them enough for their work. This is their week.

My oldest daughter grabbed my camera at the pool the other day. I was immediately asked if she was a photographer, because she grabbed that camera "like she owned it". Never mind that the kids aren't supposed to use my camera without asking, she is a natural behind the lens and I love her point of view.

She only grabbed a few shots at the pool, here are two.

Please, share links to your kids photos in the comments. I'd love to feature some of them.

Kids Photos: Day 1

2012-05-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day. Thank you to all the soldiers who've ever served our country.

This week I am featuring photos taken by my children. I often use images they've captured, but don't credit them enough for their work. This is their week.

The other day I found my little camera - my basic not DSLR camera and it was loaded with great images taken by my oldest son at the craft show I did in Alachua. Here are a few for your viewing pleasure.

Seriously, I wouldn't hesitate to move to Alachua if the opportunity presented itself. Such a beautiful town.

Please, share links to your kids photos in the comments. I'd love to feature some of them.

Saturday Snack

2012-05-26T15:33:00.002-04:00

Every once in a while the stars align and goodness is created.

I'd purchased a few containers of Philadelphia Indulgence Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread super cheap after a sale at Publix and coupons. But what do with them? Not many ideas. We'd enjoyed the white chocolate flavor on graham crackers and it was delicious. The milk chocolate flavor sat in the fridge awaiting inspiration.

Inspiration came this morning in the form of this pin for Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries. I had chocolate cream cheese. I had strawberries. The stars were aligned. It was so on.

Quite simply, I removed the tops of the strawberries and made sure they had an empty cavity in the center. I put the chocolate cream cheese spread in a piping bag and piped it into the strawberries. We sat on the lanai and enjoyed. So refreshing and so good.

*I did try using a baggie to pipe the cream cheese and the baggie exploded, this cream cheese was just too thick.
*If I'd been making this for more than a midday snack I'd have topped it with some sort of cookie crumb or shaved chocolate, but as is it was perfect.
*This would be great with the white chocolate cream cheese too.
*Kraft isn't compensating me for this post. (not that I'd say no if they offered)

Enjoy.

{this moment}

2012-05-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

Crossing Over Ceremony, Cub Scout to Boy Scout, Big Brother Leading Younger Brother

Treasured

2012-05-24T17:35:00.001-04:00

A few treasuries I've been featured in today on Etsy. I love both these collections.

And at the bottom I treasury I put together this week to celebrate the end of the school year.

'Complementary colors' by DaniDoggiestuff

Bow Tie - Orange Bowtie... CraftyMunchkin... $12.99	Yummy Blueberry Cheesec... UpcycledSoyJoy $10.00	Vintage Typewriter Oran... GoodBonesVinta... $270.00	The "Mamma Blue Ha... LeLuni $52.00
Mug Cozy, Cup Cosy, Mug... LilacGifts $9.50	Set of 3 Buck Deer and ... TSCrocheted $1.50	Blue Sweet Bubble Bottl... FancyDodo $8.00	Orange Dots - Dog Colla... CollarsByDesig... $16.50
Zigzag Lap Quilt or Lar... becauseimme $155.00	Tangerine Destination W... WhiteAisleBout... $94.00	Florida Gators Scrappy ... rattydaddydink... $6.00	Dr Who, Tardis Blue on ... Quaere $27.00
Gold chunky chain and O... TheUrbanLady $18.00	Triangular Shawl Cornfl... SunnyHands $40.00	Fox Earrings - Orange S... TheTinyFig $15.00	UMBRELLA Boy BABY SHOWE... CardtopiaDesig... $13.50

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

My orange and blue zig zag quilt is in the third row.

**********

'Sammie Rae's 2nd Birthday' by VickiLou23

Shoes Toddler Girls Pai... boygirlboygirl... $25.00	Girls Crocheted Shawl -... JakeTally $23.00	Light pink Pink Flower ... MiracleFromThr... $20.00	Shabby fabric flower ha... figandpixies $9.50
Crochet Newsboy Hat - T... PBlossomBoutiq... $32.00	Maile Dress - Green Flo... gracenmay $17.99	Soft Baby Girl Toy Clot... LittleLadybugz $10.00	Doll Carrier Toy Pouch ... SnuggyBaby $13.00
Girls Toddlers Ruffled ... SheandMeDesign... $22.00	Roll Up Crayon Carrier ... becauseimme $15.00	Ellie - Toddler girl&#... elainesfabrica... $30.00	Toddler Girl Cream & Pi... applesandnanas $6.00
Pearl Silk Bloomers Wil... RitchieRags $64.00	LITTLE GIRL NURSERY - M... SoSewLovely $22.00	Waldorf Doll Clothes 2 ... Folkydots $19.50	Felt Lovely Hand Mirror chon1202 $25.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house\

My pink crayon holder is in the third row.

**********

'Summer Schooled' by becauseimme

Summer School Blank Not... Brookeshore $12.00	Notebook cover - fabric... OurLittleMesse... $10.00	Nursery Wall Art, Print... loverainbowspr... $25.00	Graduation Owl Sayings ... DigiDoodleLane $2.00
Mini Envelopes/ Mini En... GingerCreation... $3.00	Congratulations Card - ... ohgeezdesign $3.00	Graduation gift- trinke... DotDotSmile $8.00	Lampwork Back To School... hippkittybeads $124.88
Organic Wooden Semi Tru... countrysidegif... $19.95	NEW-Pastel Peeps Mini M... KateWDesigns $7.00	Back to school Girly T ... MumsyGoose $14.95	CUSTOMIZED SCHOOL NECKL... bitsyblings $7.99
Custom School Days Hand... lavida6661 $85.00	Schools out for summer ... LittlebeaneBou... $19.00	School of Fish 02 Scrab... MissingPiecesS... $6.95	CUSTOM Personalized Dr.... APinwheelProdu... $20.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Thursday Notes

2012-05-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Bow ties are in the shop, joining the neckties. All the ties are $13 each, and most of the bow ties are available in infant (0-3 years), toddler (2-6 years), child (4-8 years) and preteen (8-13 years).

Etsy allows the seller to organize the way images appear on the shop home page. I couldn't decide what order to put things in (quilts first?, bow ties and crayon rolls first?, onesies first?) so I organized the shop by color. I have no idea what that might do for sales, but it was fun and it does look nice. Mostly though, at the end of the day, it gives me a great reason to laugh at myself.

Some of the celery is dying. I think it had too much water. Not one to be deterred, I have more celery bases ready to plant and will plant those in milk jugs with bigger drain holes.

But look below. Little cherry tomatoes are growing. Very exciting!

Outside the Box

2012-05-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

The most recent show has come and gone.

It was hot, and humid, and not too busy. I'm not complaining, it's the end of May in Southwest Florida; hot, humid, and far less busy is the norm (and why we go to the beach, early in the morning). The hope, of course, is that it'll be busy anyway. This weekend, unfortunately, didn't prove to be the exception. I did do a fair bit of networking, learned of some good upcoming show prospects, and made some new friends. Onward and upward.

Prep for this, and future, shows included a day of shopping. I wanted to go to IKEA. I knew I'd find what I wanted at IKEA. I knew I'd be happy at IKEA. But I convinced myself that Old Time Pottery was just like IKEA, and two hours closer to home. Yeah, it was NOT like IKEA. At all. So the day was spent searching thrift stores for some types of somethings to hold handbags, a key fob holder, and a good display for bow tie barrettes. Oh, and a plant shelf type thing for folded onesies. Some serious out of the box shopping.

I found a black plate or album rack for handbags for $1 at a secondhand shop. A bit of shiny white spray paint and I had a white metal piece that would keep handbags from falling over. The jury is still out on the success of this one. It certainly did what I wanted it to, but I wasn't overjoyed by the look of it. I'm leaning now towards a baking pan, painted white of course, or maybe a serving tray ... something with sides so I can "shelve" the handbags and keep them from blowing over in the wind.

I found a decorative metal napkin holder for the key fobs. After painting it with a high gloss white spray paint I purchased a few packages of small S hooks to complete the project, and then turned it on its side. The key fobs, unfortunately, were too long for the display. Back to the drawing board (I have a plan, but am not sure how it'll work, so I'll share that another day if it's successful). As an aside, is it odd to pick up a few cans of white spray paint "just in case" when you go to Home Depot for something completely unrelated?

No plant shelves to be found. At all, not even ones I didn't like. I have a feeling that if I hit a couple garage sales on Saturday morning I'll find just the right shelf unit.

At a local Goodwill I found a great freestanding framed mirror, table top sized, and fell in love. Unfortunately, the way the edges were shaped I knew it wouldn't work for me for barrettes.

I moved on to Salvation Army and found a rather unattractive gold-coated plastic frame. But it had good bones and potential. I took it home, primed it, and painted it ... glossy white. Of course. Painting it made the details look more antique and more subtle, rather than just gaudy.

After the paint dried I filled the frames with sales information for the barrettes and ponytail holders and reinserted the now cleaned up glass.

I then got out the hot glue gun and added strips of 1" wide blue ribbon, with the ribbon glued right onto the back of the frame.

Total cost for the bowtie barrette holder?

$1. Yup, $1. I think it looks pretty darn pretty for $1. I already had the paint and ribbon, so only had to pay for the frame.

Total time invested in the project was about 30 minutes, not counting paint drying time. The painting was the only part that took any time, once that was done I just had to print up the signs and add the ribbon.

The barrettes look so pretty on the frame. They're really easy to put on and take off. And the frame adds a bit of character to the booth, more than a typical peg rack would.

I am not selling the barrettes online at this time, but if you're interested in them let me know.

If I had a bigger frame I could run the ribbon horizontally and use clothespins to attach the bow tie ponytail holders I made recently. The two frames next to each other would create a stunning display.

bow tie ponytail holders

Do you have any out of the box decorating ideas to share? I'd love to hear them.

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Great Deal

2012-05-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Pick up my crayon holders for just $10 at GroopDealz this weekend. Great for car and plane trips (think summer vacation!).

Because I'm Me Groop Dealz Feature

2012-05-18T09:56:00.003-04:00

As I mentioned Thursday, my crayon rolls are being featured on GroopDealz this weekend. They are listed for $10, a savings of 33%. Hurry on over before they sell out!

The crayon rolls have also been listed in my shop, just in case you don't make it to the deal site on time.

While I'd like you to love nothing as much as you love the crayon rolls, GroopDealz is, in general, a great place for gift shopping. The deals are often very good and very unique.

Happy shopping!

{this moment}

2012-05-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

Thursday Notes

2012-05-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

A little bit of this and that ...

After much delay and distraction I've listed the neckties in my shop. Bow ties ... not so much yet, but I'm working on it. Each tie is just $13 each. I'd made them all with adjustable slide neck clasp hardware, but then opted to go back and change all the baby ties to velcro so they'd come right apart if they were ever to catch on something. Obviously, baby should be supervised at all times (and is likely to not wear a tie for very long anyway), but better safe than sorry. All larger sized neckties are completely adjustable, from tie length to neck size, for years or use.

The ties look so cool on. My heart skips a beat when River is wearing one, he's just so darn cute (actually, I kind of always feel that way about River, but the tie doesn't hurt).

This Saturday I will be participating in a craft show on Fort Myers Beach, the Do Wop Festival. It will be held at Santini Marina Plaza (far south end of the island) from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Mention that you're a Facebook friend when you stop by to receive 25% off of everything. Check out new pencil rolls, bow tie barrettes, and onesies, as well as a large selection of summery quilts.

I haven't killed any plants yet in the annual gardening effort. In fact, I've added more peppers and herbs to the lanai garden. We planted chocolate mint the other day, which lives up to it's name -- we're already exploring recipes to use it in. And the celery has gone from this to this in just over a week:

I'd originally planted 3 celery bases(?) and one didn't take at all, so I replaced it with two more.

The first round of this project I soaked the bases for about 24 hours in warmish water and then buried them about an inch below the soil, as recommended. Clearly that wasn't working so I pulled them out and planted them much closer to the surface, in fact, all new growth was left out in the open, with the dirt barely covering the base. That worked so much better, the stalks immediately started growing - like the next day they'd doubled in size.

For round 2 I soaked the bases for just over 48 hours and planted them after they'd already started producing new growth. Right now the bases are way out of the soil ... I'm going to add a bit of soil and compost to cover them, but still keep the new growth out in the open.

I've been watering them daily and keeping them in full sun. So far so good. Apparently, which I didn't realize when I started this, it takes about 2 months to get edible celery. I'm practicing patience.

Lastly, on Friday my crayon rolls will again be featured at GroopDealz. If you weren't able to get in on this deal the first time here's another chance. I'll post a link as soon as the deal goes live.

Enjoy a wonderful day.

Naples Botanical Garden

2012-05-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

I mentioned last week that we'd be going to the Naples Botanical Garden for National Garden Day, enjoying free admission. I mentioned that I was excited to be going.

And here I am back with my report.

It was worth being excited about. I cannot get over how magical, expansive, delightful this garden was. It's huge, for one thing. And busy. There's something new at every turn, it felt like no detail was spared, nothing forgotten in the creating of this special place.

The colors were divine. The plants were so special. There was an area devoted to gardening with special needs. There were herbs, the best smelling herbs I've ever encountered. Hammocks, steel drums, a labyrinth, walking paths. And a children's play area complete with water play, tree house, waterfall, scavenger hunt, butterfly house, and more.

So did we like it? A little. Just kidding, we loved it, all gave it two thumbs up, and can't wait to go back.

Warning: Far too many pictures below. I couldn't help myself. I hope you enjoy them.

I Spy ...

2012-05-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Summer.

Welcome, summer.

Just Beachy

2012-05-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

I decided to put this quilt on Etsy tonight. Then I thought I'd check and see if I ever posted about it here. Apparently not, so here we are.

I finished this quilt in February and I love it. I have no idea why I put it in the corner for so long, but it was purely unintentional. Shame on me.

The quilt is created with triangles in reds and blues. I am reminded of a beach house with the starfish, plaids, and stars in the prints. There is even a cozy red flannel thrown in to add to the casual, comfortable feel of the quilt. The white is a Kona cotton.

There's a small appliqued star on the front. It fits right in, but was purely put there out of necessity. I have no idea how, but I cut a teensy hole in the fabric. I almost gave up at that point, but thought I'd try the star first and it turned out to be a perfect solution.

The quilting stitching is done in the ditch and on either side of the seams of the where the triangles meet. I also stitched in the ditch of the sashing. On the backside eight-point stars where the triangles meet are visible, they remind of me sailors following the stars at night.

Measuring about 48" by 63" this was made to be a lap quilt. It could be used for a baby or child, of course, but I wanted a quilt to snuggle under on those evenings when the windows are open a slight breeze is blowing in.

The binding is more nautical blue starfish.

Perfect for summer. And available in the shop.

{this moment}

2012-05-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

{this moment}

local

Resolve

2012-05-10T15:16:00.000-04:00

Though I cannot remember my New Year's resolutions I am 86ing each and every one of them. They've all been tossed by the wayside and replaced with one:

Beach more.

Breathe that sea air deeply.

Memorize the sounds of the waves.

Touch, feel, explore the coastline.

Run. Play. Create.

Relax.

A resolution worth keeping.

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National Public Gardens Day - Free Admission to Public Gardens

2012-05-10T12:26:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow the kids and I are going to the Naples Botanical Garden in Naples, Florida. For free. Yes, free.

If you go to bhg.com (Better Homes and Gardens) you too can get as many tickets as you want/need to visit a local public garden for free this Friday too.

Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales is also honoring this free day. I went last summer, for a free museum admission day. If you have the chance to visit there tomorrow, or ever, do it. It's a magical place.

If you happen to go to the Naples Botanical Garden with your free tickets look for me. I'll be the middle aged woman looking like a kid in a candy store - I'm pretty sure I'm more excited about this opportunity than the kids are (though one asked me at 8:00 this morning if it was time to go to the garden, so maybe we're all equally excited).

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2012-05-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again ... the time of year when I decide I can grow something and actually keep it alive.

I go through this every spring. And by August I have nothing to show for my good intentions and wishful thinking, except a few empty containers with sad, sorry, brown bits sticking out of them.

Not one to be detered, I'm trying again.

Today the kids and I planted tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of herbs.

The big red pots are actually plastic waste cans from Ikea. Rather than spending $10+ per container at Home Depot we drilled a few holes in the bottoms of these $1.99 containers. I couldn't be happier with the cheery results.

Our yard doesn't have good growing soil and neighbors who grow things well have had a tough time, so I thought the containers with good potting soil might have a better chance of success.

Last week, as a practice run for this potting and growing session I planted celery roots. I saw this idea on Pinterest and it certainly sounded easy peasy, and like a great source of instant gratification. See, here's an image from Farm Bell Recipes, just three days after planting:

Pretty cool, huh?

And here's proof positive that I can't grow things, not even easy peasy instant gratification things:

That's five days after planting. Nil. Nada. Zip.

I'm confident our container garden will be a raging success, regardless of how the celery is going! At least I hope so.

I found a composter on clearance at Home Depot last week and was able to use a gift card to pick it up. Apparently it takes a long time to compost stuff, but in the meantime we're having tons of fun tossing all sorts of crap into it. Perhaps if one has a composter their plants will think they're a master gardener? I'm sure.

No matter how the project turns out it's always fun to try.

What's in your garden this summer?

Lakeland Artisan Fair

2012-05-07T08:58:00.000-04:00

The Lakeland Artisan Fair has come and gone.

Attending required a just over 2 hour drive which began before the sun rose. Oodles of fog and cows entertained us as we drove the "back way", through the smaller state roads instead of the interstate. More often than not I had the road to myself, making for a quick drive up there.

I brought two assistants to the show and they worked hard. I couldn't have asked for better help. After a few hours Mia found a sculptor working on a clay mermaid and sat transfixed watching him create. Kaden found a friend, a very active toddler who was quite happy to have a big kid to keep him entertained (I'm not sure whether it was Kaden or his young friend who was more tired out at the end of the day!).

Yes, the tablecloths shrunk. Oops.

As seems to be par for the course, the booth had to be set up differently for this show. We had browsers on the street side as well as in the show area, so I created a little back door opening and displayed a few things facing that direction.

Overall traffic flowed really well. Lots of browsing. I find that often people see the booth, glance, and move along. There was very little of that this weekend, much more entering, browsing, and chatting.

The sign holders are $1 kids craft picture holders from a local craft store. They are simply spray painted white. I added stones at the bottom front and back to add a little stability, but once a slight breeze kicked in they all blew over so I'm going to be coming up with a Plan B. The backs have little clothespin-like clips to attach the price and description signs.

Overall, this was a very small show. Traffic was steady but light. Sales were not all that great. But - I met a lot of wonderful artists and a lot of networking was done. Cards have been exchanged (I think I came home with about two dozen) so we can pass along show information.

After the show my assistants and I went to Ikea for a little dreaming. There's a new commercial running about some families who live in Ikea, just liked it so much they never left. I get that.

Thank you so much for sharing your Diet Coke experiences. It's incredibly encouraging.

{this moment}

2012-05-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

{this moment}

Thursday Notes

2012-05-03T10:17:00.002-04:00

ponytail hair bows

Happy Thursday.

This weekend is the Lakeland Artisan Fair in Lakeland, FL. Come by and say hi if you're in the area. It looks like a great little event with music and handcrafts.

Last week I sewed non-stop for the rodeo event, this week I've taken it easy and made a few bows and bow ties. Hopefully that won't bite me in the rear later ... I have visions of getting to the show this weekend and being completely unprepared. But relaxed. All's well.

I've decided to give up Diet Coke. No biggie, right? Except that it's all I drink. I don't like anything else. At all. Not even a little bit. I started drinking Diet Coke when I was about 16 and never looked back. That was a very long time ago.

Week 1 I cut my consumption of the stuff in half. Easy peasy. Really, I started drinking hot water with lemon in the morning and ice water throughout the day and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it's ok. I'm now in Week 2 and was almost done with it completely when a few days of really bad headaches hit and I caved. The funny thing, though, was that the headaches made me mad. Mad at the Diet Coke. Mad enough to be happy to be giving it up.

So far I'm not feeling great and happy for giving it up, but I know even if I feel the same now in the long run it's a very wise move.

Have you ever broken a tough habit? How did you do it and how did it go?