Crafty Crazy

Yet again I have buried myself under a mountain of crafts and I love it! I'm doing 2 organized swaps right now. I also have a personal swap in the works, but the time frame on that is pretty open. I am also going to be organizing my very first swap on Craftster.org. It is a Kevin Smith and related movies swap! I love anything and everything Kevin Smith so I thought this would be great for my first swap to organize. I'm not starting that until later in August though so I do have some time.
I've also started Christmas/Yule crafting. Each person usually gets 2 gifts. Some get 2 crafted items others get only 1. I also have those few people who don't take to crafted gifts so they get store bought crap LOL. Nothing is worse than a gift you slaved over getting that "uhhh thanks" and a roll of the eyes.
OOO I almost forgot I'm also embroidering a sampler for a Craftster challenge. It is going to be double duty as it is also going to be my Hubby's anniversary gift. It will be 3 lovely years married for us on August 13th!
Off to bed and then up bright and early for another day of juggling housework and crafting.

Whew!

So I'm completely worn out! I was kind enough to offer to keep not only my little sister who is 7, but also her dog, and our cousin who is 16 and special needs! Let's just say I don't think I'll ever have 2 kids and 2 dogs!!! I desperately need a nap, but the girls don't leave until this evening after supper. I may have to take all day tomorrow just to recoup (read sleep in). The girls are out running off some of their energy in the yard under the watchful eye of the hubby so I can have a couple minutes to myself. I still want to have a kid, but just not 2 and 2 dogs! Maybe I'll just have to stay in my jammies and embroidery all day tomorrow. Oh what a shame :)

Best Rummage Sale Find Ever

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Originally uploaded by AlwaysInspired

So I promised to blog the goods from our rummage sale adventures and here she is! I got this gorgeous antique trunk for $10! It is in really good shape. My Auntie and I cleaned it up and leather conditioned all the leather areas and it looks great. The inside is also nice and the stinky moth ball smell is just about gone thanks to baking soda and newspapers. If you want to see more photos and the inside of the trunk click on the photo and go to my flickr account. I think this is my new favorite living room accessory! I plan on using it to store my huge collection of vintage silk scarves.

A Great Find

So about every other weekend my Auntie and I go on a rummage sale binge. Today I scored a great vintage wall lamp that was begging to be re conned into something spiffy for my pirate themed bathroom that is in the works. My hubby has yet to build the bathroom in the basement, but this fall it will become a reality with a little help from some friends. Then it is all up to me to pirate the thing out! I have some great things all ready stocked up and paint colors chosen. I'll post pics of the lamp when I get around to re conning it. I'll post any other great finds tomorrow after we hit the "good ones".

Yea for Swap Goodies!

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Originally uploaded by AlwaysInspired

It has been like Christmas in July around here lately! I got a wonderful package from a personal swap a couple days ago and then today I get an awesome package from the Invite Your Partner round 9 swap!! Kittykill out did herself! I just had to post a pic of these great pillow cases she embroidered for me on my bed!! The quilt was our wedding gift from an Aunt and Uncle and family. We call it Celt-Asian. The fabrics are all asian inspired, but the quilt has the traditonal celtic knots. The long one in the center is the warrior knot (since we met in Karate) and the square type knots are the lovers knot. It has been on our bed since we recived it and it goes beautifully with the new pillow cases!! What a day!

Poppet Creations # 2 and 3

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Originally uploaded by AlwaysInspired

Well here are the next poppet creations I made. Ollie, the green one was my little sister's 7th Birthday present. She has since gotten a ton more outfits and a purse too. Ellie, the brown one was made for my cousin. My cousin is "special" and her and my sister are very close. My cousin is 16, but younger in actions so I made her this doll to be best friends with my sister's doll. I gave them to the girls on the same day and they loved it! They are made using the original poppet pattern. All the clothes on these 2 were patterns I made while winging it. The hair was so much fun. They each really took on a personality of their own. Ollie is outgoing and rambunctious like my sis and Ellie is quiet, but silly and giggly like my cousin.

First Poppet Creation

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Originally uploaded by AlwaysInspired

So now that I have the picture thing down I figured I'll start blogging my crafty creations. Most of my dolls are based on the poppet pattern found of Craftster.org. I have modified the pattern several times and also used other peoples modifications. This was the first poppet I made. Her name is Jojo and she is totally punk rock. I made her as a gift for my cousin. For the clothes and accessories I usually just wing it. Jojo has a leather belt with loops and buckles (it is actually a dog collar), a studded choker (felt with sequins), earrings, and a faux hawk! I went doll making crazy after I made her. I didn't really even know how to use a sewing machine at the time, but now I'm a sewing whiz. To see more pictures of any of my Poppet creations click on the image and go to my flickr account. I have other pictures of Jojo on there right now and will also add pictures of my other poppets as I post them.

I fixed the picture issue

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Originally uploaded by AlwaysInspired

Here is that picture I promised of the hubby and I. I think I may finally have this picture uploading thing figured out! Now many more pictures to come.

Grrrr

Okay so I thought I'd make a new post and then the stinking picture doesn't appear. I have no idea what is wrong so bear with me. I'll try to go back tomorrow and get the pic to appear. I'm wore out from our camping trip this weekend!

Here is a pic of my hubby, Aaron and I. It was taken during our time living in Coeur D' Alene Idaho, which was about 3 years ago. It is one of my favorite pictures of us together even though it is old. We haven't really changed much anyway.

We lived in Idaho for about 2 1/2 years. In some ways it was a great experience to be away from the things we'd always known, but it was hell in a lot of other ways. We are back home now where we belong. I was raised with very deep roots and most people in my family may stray for awhile, but always end up coming home. I think I was drawn home by the fact that I want to have kids some day in the not to distant future, and I couldn't imagine raising them anywhere else. It is good to be home.

A little something about the Hubby. He is just a few months younger than me. We met in Karate when we were quite young. I hated his guts at first because he was a stinky boy! LOL We grew to be friends and then more than friends. I always knew I'd end up being his forever. He went college to be a chef and currently works at just about the nicest restaurant we have in our little town. We're both quite content and happy in our lives right now, which I think everyone deserves.

Getting Started

So after some consideration, and encouragement from Craftster pal Kittykill, I decided to start a blog. This will be a place for me to post crafty pursuits, random pictures, tid bits of my life, and other random inspirations. It will be a work in progress, but I hope to keep it like a diary of sorts and an outlet for my crafty pictures and rambling thoughts. I'll be adding pictures when I return from our camping trip this weekend.