Project Life Weeks 10, 11, 12, & 13

Working on catching these up. I seem to be drawn to using a whole lot of pink in these pages of I just have a mad stash of pink readily available. Nothing super fan y in these layouts. I hand cut the title for week 13 and I kind of like that weeks sparseness.

Best of Life Videos - December 2012

What's that December 2012 video is up. Two years of making these videos finished when I watch them even with the crap footage I love them. Some more than others. I'm very super excited to work on making better ones in 2013 - I think I will stick to the same template same format see how that goes.  Anyhow December was half in NYC half in Indy and with Christmas and a snow day there was lots of awesomesauce to work with.  Song is one of my favorites - "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.  If the below doesn't work you can check the video out on youtube click here.   And if you are really bored here's all of them here.

Best of Life Videos - November 2012

Catching up with finishing off these videos.  This is such a fun project - well aside from selecting the music its fun.  I am planning to bring it back again in 2013 although I don't think I will use the photos again and will just only use videos.  Looking back November was a great month it was when we got engaged so I used the song Marry Me by Train.  If the below won't work click here to see the verison on youtube.

2012 Da List in the Books

Happy New Year Folks!
Man did 2012 fly by. 2012 was a year where I really truly focused on living life intentionally and boy does that make time pass quickly.  It's a year where I learned about forgiveness, patience, and commitments.  I fell in love, real true, honest, godly love.  It was a year where I realized how blessed I am and I worked on being grateful.  And it was also a year where sometimes my goals and lists got upstaged by all of these things and more.   I finished 26 of my 52 items on Da List (50%) and I made a good dent in 6 others.  You know what I'm okay with that (which is harder than you think). But when I look back 2012 was a good year - NO it was AWESOMESAUCE and sometimes it's it's okay to live life and to have your directions change mid year/month/season.  I look forward to all that 2013 has to bring and will be back with a new set of goals for 2013.  A new set of goals which does not include things like reading 52 books or trying to accomplish something un-attainable each month.

Best of Life Videos - October 2012 - Magic

I still enjoy making these. You often forget what happened in the month until you make them. October was a pretty sweet month. Friends of ours got married, Halloween, Date on the Street, the Chinese visited among other things.  The song is Magic by Rabbit - I wanted to use another song but seems that the format of that song is not accepted in the video editing software I used so I had to settle for this one.  Which I also love.  Enjoy.  If you can't get this version to work here's the youtube link.

DIY Stocking for Dustin

Dustin didn't have a stocking so I crafting him one out of leftover felt. It was a simple project and fun to design. I decided he needed a super awesome bearded gnome. Away I went with my seeing machine and this was the end result which I love. He opened it this morning and was super excited to have one to put up next to mine an Jono's.  
anyhow I am counting this as #7 on my 10 crafts for Da List in the home stretch on that project.

Dear Jackie and Lisa - Book 11

Finally finished another book. I've been reading three at a time so it felt good to finally finish one. This one was classic - Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I downloaded it for free for my iPhone one day when they took my suitcase which had my other book in it - it was actually the only free book I recognized the author so I downloaded it.   
It's a cute story although a bit wordy at times.  Anne is so likeable it's hard not to like.  It was like a throwback to watching the movies with mom although the book is actually a little different.  Not sure why but I liked this question that Anne asked Matthew in like the first chapter "which would you rather be if you had the choice - divinely beautiful or dazzlingly clever or angelically good?"  - I think I'd go with dazzling clever because who doesn't want to sparkle cleverness.  Anyhow it was a good read and I'd probably read it again and it made me want to watch the movies too.  
Thats all the reading from me for now.   Happy Reading girls!

Sampler Quilt for Baby Miram

Together with the Indianapolis Modern Quilt Guild I put together this sampler quilt for baby miram Rachael's little baby.  I had girls make blocks with a pink, aqua, orange color pallet and then I pieced together the top and back.  I had my mind made up that her baby was going to be a boy and then it wasn't so at the last minute I quilted this in hot pink thread and tossed on some pink pieced binding but it looks girlie now.   I should have taken a photo of the quilting it's free-handed squares it turned out pretty fun despite my ridiculous plan not to change out the foot on my machine to try and make the quilt faster.  Anyhow I'm considering this quilt #6 for the year even though I didn't make all the blocks.  Can anyone tell which blocks I made? 

Best of Life Video - August 2012 - Before I Go

Another video down - I really haven't been listening to any music lately and so when it came time to pick a song for this I was at a loss.  I thought at first I might use some Who or U2 and then I came across this song in my playlist "Before I Go" by Bearfoot it seemed right as August was a month before I started traveling again (well the beginning).  I really need to find some new tunes to add into the rotation so I have something to go to if anyone has anything to recommend let me know. And just in case this won't load for you click here for the youtube verison.

Dear Jackie and Lisa - Book 10

Someone should tell me to give up on this 52 books goal. There are just over three months left this year and I haven't even made it 1/2 way to my goal. Clearly I'm not a reader.  But still I truck along.  I finished up a iBook that I read on my phone recently.  I don't necessarily recommend reading this way nor do I recommend the book - This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald.  It was free and it's by an author of classical books on those lists and such.  And somehow it got downloaded to my phone so I read it.  Much of the book with it's odd poetry and jumping around made me want to just give up and never finish it.  But for whatever reason when I was bored on a plane or a train or wherever I kept reading it.  It wasn't horrible but it definitely wasn't my cup of tea.  I think my favorite part of the book was the quotes in the beginning - "Well this side of Paradise... There's little comfort in the wise" - Rupert Brooke  and "Experience is the name so many people give to their mistakes" - Oscar Wilde - perhaps I should read their books instead??  Read it if you like however I say find something more interesting.  
Anyhow that puts me into double digits with my reading for 2012 so I'm pretty excited about that.
Happy Reading!

Best of Life Videos - July 2012

It's ever so hard to trim these to fit into 3-6 minutes.  I cut out a lot of photos and even some crappy videos that really didn't add any value.  I think in October I'm going to resume only using video clips and make a special point to take more video.  I had trouble picking a song.  July was such a fun month - I spent about two weeks on the road out west and then several days on mini family vacation.  It was a month of extreme heat and flew by in a blink, so many moments in July I want to remember.  In July I don't recall listening to any special songs really so I wanted something summerish but then everything summerish seemed "sexual" so I ended up going with Chicago's "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" because well Chicago is very summery and it just struck my fancy in that moment - I do so love bands with some real music to them.  

  Hopefully this works.  I keep getting "crash reports" in the preview.  The youtube link is here.

Da List Where Am I At?

I haven't really given a progress on Da List in quite some time. So there's no better time that the present.  

Completed:

3. Trivia night

8. Go Camping

9. Family Vacation

10. Restyle my Filing Cabinet

12. Visit Thea and Paul - (Twice too)

17. Make end tables - Bought re-purposed - DONE 

21. Kitchen Remodel

23. See some live music - Done Several Times Over!

24. Make something in my food processor - Smoothies twice. DONE 

25. Vintage Game Night 

31. Dinner at new restaurants 

32. Lunch with Jilly B 

35. Spring Break in Montreal

36. FaceTime Sammie 

45. Send JJ and FCH a MLK/Christmas Gift

46. Ride a new bike trail 

Grand Total 15 Complete!  

 

In Progress:

 2. Study the Bible more

 6. Finish 12 quilts - 4 down!  3 more in the works for near completion

11. Run 366 miles - 188 (yikes I'm behind)

 22. Monthly Hiking Adventures with Momo and Family. -4 down

 44. 10 crafty projects - 5 Complete 1/2 way

47. Document Life

50. Read a Book a Week - (WAAAAY BEHIND)

 51. Continue with the monthly videos - 1-6 DONE

8 more In Progress
I feel pretty good about this progress.  We're a little over 1/2 way thru the year and I am on track to at least complete 30 of things which is about what I finished last year so it's pretty consistent.  Perhaps I need to start making shorter lists if these aren't really "attainable" goals.

Best of Life Videos - June 2012 - Wait so Long

Summer is flying by. June was no exception to that. It was here and then it was gone. I spent the entire month here in Indy and I enjoyed that.   It was a hot dry month here in Indy. Lots of intentional-ism happened in June. I also saw lots of live music which is on Da List #23.  I took a whole lot more actual video in this month however much of it was bad so I still used photos.  Song is "Wait so Long" by Trampled by Turtles.  Enjoy this one (I'm almost caught up with these).

Best of Life Videos May 2012

As I put this together, I realized how full and awesome the month of may was. I had to trim this video down from 38 minutes. Yes 38 now it's just over 7. I struggled with picking a song probably because May seems eons ago, but I chose - 3 Rounds and a Sound by Blind Pilot and Seasons of Love from Rent.  Enjoy

Get Crafty - #5 Pillows

Oh look I've been craftier project #5 complete.  I bought this fabric for pillows oh back in April on a trip to IKEA with Tisha. It was cheap and durable and the stripes were what just what I wanted. Well I finally got around to finishing those pillows. These are bring basic I just cut squares sewed almost all the way around them leaving a 3 inch hole,  reversed the fabric and I filled them with recycled stuffing from my old sofa pillows. Then blanket stitched them closed. I love the stripes and I love the bunch of color it adds to the living room.    Oh and that aqua stripe matches my blue velvet sofa perfectly.  If you look closely you can also see my end table there too yes that's right it's an old dough tin - I purchased two of them for like $20 back in January and I love them as end tables + storage (that was #17 on da list).  

Get Crafty #4 - T-Rex Planter

When I saw this planter Mandy made. I knew I needed to make one. So I did and I love it.  I even gave him a little tie to jazz him up.  It seems a little small for the cactus but I backed in some extra dirt.  And ta da I have my 4th (sad day) craft project complete for 2012.  If you want instructions on how to make your own check out Mandy's Blog Something Monumental here.

PS.  Rooster now has the coolest cactus ever decorating his room - I'm sure his roommates are jealous.

Get Crafty - Project #3 Button Shoes

I finished a few crafty projects this week. And this is by far my favorite. I have yet to even where these shoes anywhere but inside my house and yet I LOVE them. They were inspired by what else but Pinterest and this is the source here. I already had a mad stash of buttons so I asked Kathleen to bring over her E6000 glue and we set to gluing up some old shoes we have.  It was a little harder than we thought as the buttons were sliding around but perseverance was worth it I love them.   PS this project takes more buttons and glue than you think we used an entire tube of E6000 and easily 300 buttons.

Tuesday Tutorial - Spoon Getter - Crafty #2

I have been crafty recently I promise I just NEVER finish anything well the other night I finished a few kitchen projects.  Including my second crafty project for the year which I like to call the "Spoon Getter".  Inspired by this photo from Pinterest from Toodeloo's Kitchen, when I saw it I knew I needed something similar for my kitchen because I hate having things on the counters.  So I set off to find tins to match my kitchen. 

Sorry these step-by-steps are not really that helpful this was completely trial and error for me I hadn't a clue how to do it. 

1. Gather supplies.  I found three with good prospects all various sizes and the right color pallet for less than $8 total at thrift stores and the flea market.  Thanks to Brittney and Dustin for helping me locate them.  In addition to the tins you also need various sized screws, nuts to fit, drywall screws, scrap wood, and pocket brackets.  I also used a good old DeWalt drill and a Stanley wrench. 

2. Wash the tins really well. 

3. Determine the order and placement of your tins.  I did mine kind of staggered because they are different sizes and I thought it added character.

4. Mark your tin's placement on the side. 

5. Drill holes in middle tin first then line them back up and mark the outer ones. 

6. Insert the flat machine screws into the holes to join the side tins to the center and affix a nut to each of the ends to hold it together, tighter with a wrench.

7. Cut scrap wood to size. I had some thin pine that was used to hang peg board in the garage so it was not to thick and easy to cut with the Rockwell tool however if you don't have a Rockwell you could use a handsaw just as easy - my friend thought the rockwell was overkill. 

8.Mark where the wood goes it needs to be at the top and even a second piece could have made it hang flush to the wall however I like mine tilted so it's easier to grab the spoons.  

9.  Attach the pocket brackets to the back of the wood.  They cost about $1.50 at Lowes and they allow you to put screws in the wall and then slide in the spoon getter otherwise I don't know how to describe them.

10. Put screws in the wall that measure EXACTLY from the center of each of the pocket brackets you just screwed on the wood.  Trust me when I say even the slightest off-ness will mess this up - this girl added about 8 holes to the wall on this. Leave them out about 1/4 of an inch to slide on the pocket bracket. 

11. Pre-drill holes in the tins to affix the wood with the brackets to the spoon getter.  Screw in the screws and then put a nut on the end so it's not poking you when you get a spoon.  

12.  Slide the spoon getter pocket brackets onto the exact right screws on the wall.  

13.  Add Spoons and boom Spoon Getter!

Project total less than $10 for all the tins and screws.  Thanks Pinterest and Toodeloo for inspiring this project.  I love it.  I can't wait to make more things and get my spoons from the spoon getter. 

Cats Wearing Shoes a Quilt for Kathleen

I'm excited to say I finished this one just a month after my friend Kathleen's birthday.  Kathleen picked out this fabric with me one day when we were thrifting - I of course was like "when will I need cats wearing shoes?"  to which she exclaimed "when you make me a quilt".  
So I set off attempting to use this print - I discovered very soon that I was not excited about "fussy cut" prints, however I found a way to make this work and I must say I like this quilt much more than I thought I would.  Extra "white space" really made me jazzed about it.  Fabrics are Robert Kaufman + the Cats Wearing Shoes which was a Burlington Coat Factory Sheet circa probably 1985.  All the binding was from scraps both of the fabric used in this quilt as well as leftovers from others.  I'm pretty sure Kathleen loves it and can't wait to cuddle up in it.  Thanks to Dustin for holding the quilt up for her as it's much bigger than she is.  Happy Be-lated birthday Kathleen. 

This makes quilt #5 for 2012 and I have two others near completion as well.

a summer manifesto

No goals for June, after reading both Elise and Ali's blogs I decided instead I'm throwing down a summer manifesto for June, July and August.  Originally this list was waaay long but then I paired it down to those things I "REALLY" wanted to do not things that sound like fun.   I already kicked off the weekend with tons of intentionalism this past weekend.  So hello summer!