aww that's so kawaii

"kawaii"

cute in Japanese

I can't help it. I've been putting little faces on everything these days. I think it comes from wanting to personify everything too. I'm always talking to my monitor at work and it has reached the point that my coworkers just keep walking. They are used to me by now. Or at least they fake it really well ;o)

(hand embroidered dish cloth with rain drops; Kawaii digital embellishments from Two Peas: I printed them on white cardstock and glued them to a magnet backing to pin up M's schoolwork on the fridge; hand painted a face on my paint brush cup from Joann's; Hello Kitty bobby pins: Target; embroidery floss I use to make kawaii faces; super cute "flair" buttons: Hot Topic; cute bread cutter and sauce containers for making lunch time fun from this Etsy shop; Mmm yummy Belly Washer Hello Kitty juice)

Since I have to pack my lunches now I was a little tired bringing them in plastic shopping bags so I found this cute frog lunch bag-or at least I think it's a frog- with icepack at Target last week and fell in love right away. It holds everything perfectly and the little icepack keeps it cool until I need to eat. Which seems so be more often now that I'm watching what I eat. Why is that??? Oh and I made the apple sack too so my pommes don't get bruised. There's nothing worse then a bruised apple from being packed carelessly in lunch boxes. Oh wait yes there is, bananas. *sigh*

I have been making quite the list of crocheted goodies for my new little niece. These books are so fun and easy to follow and super quick to whip up too. The apple and pear are from the first book they really took me no time at all as Amigurumi style is a single crochet all around. So simple and super rewarding. Keeping the brain sharp one stitch at a time ;o)

And if you haven't seen enough things that are super kawaii, here is my fresh little niecey poo, Magnolia Ka Wing Seaker-Wong. She is so tiny but super adorable. I can't wait til I get to pinch those cheeks!! Yes. I am the cheek pinching Aunty. I can't help it.

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sand for brains

Joe and I just returned from our mini vacation to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina and I'm still shaking sand out of everything. But boy oh boy it was worth it.

The Carlberg clan rented a beach house right on the beach and I never knew such luxury until I stayed there for a few nights. I have to say that I could get used to living the beach life only having to walk out the back door right onto a private pathway to a little piece if oceany goodness. The only bummer part of that is when the sun was at it's most powerful, you would burn your feet on the sand. Needless to say I ran that stretch every time. Activity points. ;o)

The house was quite the stay too. It had it's own elevator which is just the coolest! Even though I tried to take the stairs as much as possible to get some activity in, I couldn't help but take the elevator a time or two. I mean come on, it's not every house that it's own elevator. I even caught Joe and Maribel taking it a time or two...

Going down?

Maribel was so in her element. Many times she beat me to the beach by going down with a cousin and when I would get there she was digging herself some sea shells and buckets of sand. Girl likes to dig. And bury her feet.

Our first night the moon was shining so full and so bright. It was a magnificent sight to take in. I love walking the beach at night. It's so therapeutic and serene.

A jelly fish washed ashore and it attracted many viewers. I had never seen one that big. I also shewed away a boy that was getting ready to poke it with a stick. Poor thing. I about poked the boy with the stick but his mom beat me to it. My kind of mom.

Coming home was bitter sweet. I miss my little Boo as she got to stay behind with Gma and Gpa. Nice. At least our kitties were super happy we were home. Bijou and Milo didn't leave me alone the whole night but poor Pipa ate some string and a balloon of M's that we forgot to throw out so I now have the awesome task of watching the poop to make sure it makes its way out. Oh Home Sweet Home.

Why can't I live right on the beach? I swear I would never leave. ;0)

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a spooling image

I invite you to meet the wooden spool version of our family.

Ever since making my mother in-law this spool doll, M has been bugging me rather steadily to make her a mini version of her. Well I finally found the motivation and cracked out the brushes and paint and got to work. Luckily I already had the heads glued and the bodies painted so all that was left were the hair and faces. The toughest parts to be truly honest.

I have to say, mixing the paints to match my little red head was quite the challenge. I ended up using an almost florescent orange and mixing it with a brown and came up with the perfect "Maribel" hair colour. I was stunned at how close it really is.

But of course I couldn't stop there. NooOoo. I had it in my mind that Maribel's doll needed her Mommy and Daddy too. I gave us some "clothes" here using ribbon and twine that I had laying around. I love how purposeful these are and that I can reuse the dolls anytime. It's perfect for cute craft storage.

heehee we're nakey...

Maribel loves her little family and I have to say, my heart melts a little when I hear her playing our family scenes with these. Well, except when she sends my doll to time out. Need to work with her on that since Daddy seems to get off scot free. hmph.

I'm off to pack for our beach trip. EEP I can't wait!!! Late night road trip with the hubby (as little M will beat us there with Gma and Gpa) and tons of "I can't believe how fast she's growing" conversations. Note to self: I MUST remember my SPF50.
Have a marvelous Friday!!

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I'm grounded

The other day I was driving home making my grocery list in my head, my car over heats and drops the AC fan. Great. No car until the part comes in. So I am home. Alone. Left with my own creative mind. Grounded. I was looking in my closet for something to wear when I came across the perfect outfit.

Why not make the most of it?

Getting work done.

Skype with my sis and her new little Magnolia Ka Wing Seaker-Wong. Could she be any cuter?!? I didnt' think so either heehee

Time to make some lunch

Mmm 2 point sanny. delicious.

Oh? I got a package.
(when the doorbell rang I scrambled to position the camera. The guy thought I was nuts.)

Since I'm up I'll get the mail too.

Back to work.

Who said being grounded had to be boring? Sure I got some work done but it's more fun to work in a sunshiney happy colour like Banana Yellow!!

Thank you so much for the support and words of encouragment on my previous post. I'm not even finished a complete week and already I feel so much better. Yay for healthier choices!!!

So what did you wear today?

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here we go, take...

....uh well let's just say I've done this before but I'm ready to do it again because I know I can if I put my mind to it. And this time I want to do it.

I joined Weight Watchers. Again.

I really debated blogging about this because I wasn't sure if I wanted that added accountability but after much deep reflection I realized something. I need that added accountability. It's easy to lie to myself but I can't lie to others. Nope. Can't do it. I guess the turning point for me was this past week when I was driving home from picking Maribel up from the g-parents and it was literally uncomfortable to drive. Like, when I went to shoulder check it hurt my sides. It was a serious wake up call.

I know I need to set a better example for Maribel and not be a hypocrite when I tell her that she needs to eat her veggies while I shuffle them around on my plate. She has been picking up a lot of my bad habits lately and this is one that I really don't want her to follow me on.

So here's to the long journey to the skinny me that's inside me somewhere. I know she's in there somewhere. I've seen her before. Like, here...

This pic was taken in April of '06 when we brought my petite Bijou home. *tear* I was 60 lbs lighter and only 4 years younger then I am today. And petite Bijou was only 6 weeks old. Were we both ever so little?

And just for kicks...here's a 'Now' pic taken today, July 18th 2010.

....yeah. As you can probably see, we both need to shed a little, um....fluff?

So here we go. A new beginning to a new journey to a littler me. Wish me luck.

Today is Day 1 Week 1.
Mini Goal: Lose 11lbs
Lbs Lost: 0.

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I'm blue, dabo dee dabo da

Just a quickie before I get burried in work and home stuff. I've had these pics printed for soooooo long that I finally cleaned off my desk and got to work.
I don't know what type of paint they use on their face, but I do know that 7 months later, it's STILL wet.
I used some Glossy Accents to protect the ink from transfering to other stuff. Weird.

Happy Friday-Eve!!!

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Confucius says...

...it's time for some good fortune!!!

I was enjoying some precious alone time in my favourite Barnes and Noble hide out when I stumbled across a craft suggestion for some felted fortune cookies. Since I couldn't justify spending $17.99 on a magazine I thought I would commit the project to memory. Ha! I have a memory of a gold fish. It's only good for 5 minutes then I get distracted by something shiny and it's all downhill from there.

Soooooooo I made some felt ones from memory and remembered that in the magazine they used snaps to keep it closed in the center. I tried that and the result was less then satisfactory, hence the facial expression. Poor little guys.

Then I had an A-HA moment and thought that I could crochet some Amigurumi style. My first one looked super cute but a little smooshed then I switched from worsted weight yarn to cotton but couldn't find any tan coloured cotton so I went with white. According my wonderful sister she says they look like pierogies. Great. Now I'm craving Pierogies.

After a few more prototypes I think I finally got it right. I love how kawaii they look. And since I can't keep cuteness to myself I jotted down the pattern I made up in my noggin to share with my awesome blog readers.
**Please note that this is my first ever pattern and if there are any mistakes just let me know and I'll correct them. I tried. That's what counts right?

Materials:

Terms:
Ch=chain
Sc= single crochet
Sctog= single crochet together
Slst= slip stitch

Work in continuous rounds unless otherwise stated. Mark your ending stitch with a paperclip or stitch marker to keep your place.

The Circle:
Make starter loop and ch 2
Crochet 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook (6)
2 sc in each sc (12)
*Sc in the next sc, 2 sc in next sc* repeat * all around (18)
*sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc* repeat * (24)
*sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc* repeat * (30)
*sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc* repeat * (36)
*sc in next 5 sc, 2 in next sc* repeat * (40)
chain 1 

Find where you would like to add your little face and using either safety eyes or embroidery thread, stitch on your little face. Please keep in mind that you will be folding the circle in half. I placed my eyes approx 2 stitches apart near the last two rounds.

Next fold the circle in half and poke the center part of the semi circle with your finger while pulling the sides down and together.
Sctog across the top seam for 14sc stopping about 6 sc's from the end leaving a small opening at the end to tuck your little fortune inside.

Continue to sc along the top side for 4 sc (not crocheting together for these stitches) then Sctog 1 sc, Slst and fasten off leaving approx 6 inch long tail for stitching the center together. I added extra photos of this part in hopes that it would make sense.

Using the long tail sew a few stitches in the center to keep the shape. Insert your little fortune and you are done.

Of course you can adjust this pattern to make a larger cookie by continuing with the pattern of increasing the stitches every round until you have it as large as you want. The size will also vary with different sized hooks and the yarn you use. If you use a smaller hook, your little cookie guy will be smaller too and vice verse.

  Aww so kawaii!

Have fun making your little crocheted fortune cookie guys and please please pleeease share your finished projects with me so I can leave you some love.
Happy hooking!

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a little inspired

I was shopping in one of my guilty pleasure stores and came across this necklace when I was getting ready to check out. Of course I couldn't justify spending top dollar on something that I could make for less so I took a mental note and checked out. I did give it a final glance back as I left the store but continued to exit as I knew what would be good for my wallet if I did.

Thanks to coupons and supplies I had on hand I managed to recreate the necklace for much less then the SRP. See?

And here I was debating whether to sell my beading supplies and be done with it since I hadn't made anything in a long while. psha! I guess this was someone's way to speak to me in the contrary.
I'm so happy I kept my supplies. Now what else can I make?

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homesick

I wanna go here soooo bad :,0( I'm a little home sick today as I wait impatiently for my passport photos to arrive. I really want some poutine right now too which isn't helping either. Maybe some pierogies for supper tonight. Thats should do the trick. Mmm with lots of sour cream and bacon bits.

Happy Friday!!

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y'know what I'm craving?

Hello all. I just wanted to give a little peek at an upcoming tutorial.
I think I know what I'm having for dinner...
See y'all soon :D

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yay for red, white and blue!

We're celebrating today with some yummy bbq & a strawberry blueberry cake!

Mmm mmm!

Happy Independence Day!

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200 pennies

Or 40 nickles, 20 dimes, 4 quarters, or 2-1 dollar bills, my darling shweet'ems picked up this lens whilst thrift store shopping.  Man I love my man!!!

So with a little online searching through my favourite search engine Google, I found a forum discussion that helped me to get my camera to "talk" to my 'new' lens in matter of minutes. I have to say that I am in LOVE with this nifty fifty. I still need a bit of practice with the manual focus part but man it gives great bokeh and great clips. Of course everyone went to bed early so I had limited subjects to click on but these are my faves so far...

 hee hee my little vanilla frosted donut and mini camera. Hmmm I should make some more of those....yes. Yes I should.

And of course Mr Milo with his Mini-Me from one of Maribel's book sets. She loves him so much. Maybe even a little too much. lol.

For being an el cheapo lens, I'm super pleased with it. The only thing I need to do is pick up a filter and lens cap but after I take miss M to get her first pedicure. Nothing like a little pamering for my little princess. I'm still too chicken to have one done on my own. One day...

Have an awesome long weekend!

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my roots

I whipped up some earrings last minute as I stumbled across these bottle caps I had saved from my farewell party almost 7 years ago. Whoa, time flies when you're having fun in the sun.

Happy Canada Day!!

If all goes well I will be setting foot on my home soil next month munchin' on some Timmy's sipping my Booster Juice. EEP!

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stick 'em up!

I almost completely given up using the old skool stickers on my pages but while cleaning out my craft closet I found my box of stickers. Or should I say the box found my face! Serves me right for thinking I could reach that high with out the stool. Being 5'1" has it's advantages, but reaching isn't one of them. I sifted through and seperated the ones that I knew Bel would like and then it hit me.....

What if I add a little glitz.....

And I could get the epoxy look with some Glossy Accents....

And of course I could always layer...

With some card stock and pop dots this baby just jumps right out...

Or there is always a simpler approach with a brad...

And of course layering the stickers with some pop dots for dimension might be fun...

mmm looks good enough to eat ;0)

Ooo what would it look like with some fuzz?

To make it a little easier I peeled the stickers off the backings and placed them directly on my Ranger craft mat so I could reface them to my hearts content without accidentally altering the rest of the bunch. The mat is super slick and my stickers and crafting mess peel right off no problem. I have heard of people using a silicone baking sheet as a craft mat in the same manor as a cheaper option. Gotta love the flexiblity of the crafting world. ;0) 

There are so many more ideas out there but I just wanted to show some of the many different ways to bring the old stickers up to code. All in all I just opened my world to new embellishment possibilities and I have to say that I will never look at a sticker the same ever again.

Have a great long weekend!
oh and P.S. They are also great for keeping brads in place and to prevent them from catching on the page protectors. Just thought I would share that after thought : D


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