Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Tuesday Ink Blot Test


Is it a simple water color still life on a plate or Homer Simpson peeking out from behind something?

Sunday, March 29, 2009

What is it??



That was the question being asked around my house last week...it was a gift brought back from friends who visited San Fransisco and left their gerbil in our care. It smells really good so I had it sitting out and all the men/boys in my house walked by it, picked it up and asked, "What is this?" I hadn't gotten around to asking Cynthia yet, so I told them it was a "good smelling girly thing" I dunno...a pumice stone? fancy soap? giant SweetTart? It's from San Fransisco, could be anything! It broke open and it has all this nubby stuff inside...hmmm...I'm not a girly girl so I had really no idea.
I finally asked and found out it is a "bath bomb" made by Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. I had never heard of them before this lovely gift. All the nubby stuff is natural ingredients, the company appears to be eco- and animal-friendly, so check them out at www.lushusa.com
Thanks to my friend for turning me on to something new and beautiful!

Friday, March 27, 2009

The day after...
















We had a pretty good blizzard yesterday-thankfully short lived with blue skies and sunshine today. Here's a look at snow coverage before it melts away this weekend.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Not to be outdone...


Our coffee pot decided to bite the dust as well. I woke up to no hot coffee brewing, just a red light on, but nobody home. Very uncool to leave me without caffeine!

There was no note left, but I'm assuming it was a suicide pact with the fridge. The dishwasher and microwave are now under 24 hour watch. I was told these things happen in threes (or is that just celebrities?)
This photo is a really cool neon sculpture for sale at:

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

(almost) Wordless Wednesday


We lost our beloved refrigerator to old age today. Thanks for 13 years of reliable service

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Brag time


(here he is in lane 2 last Thursday)


Not about me...my oldest son! He is a swimmer on his high school team and has been gunning for the 500 record since it was set by someone else a couple of years ago. Yesterday at an invitational meet, he managed to squeak by the old record by 100th of a second! He's a junior this year, so now he wants to really beat it good by the time he graduates...stay tuned!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A funny thing happened on the way to the grocery store


Actually it happened on the way back home, but this makes for a more clever headline.

Ahhh, the chore we all love so much-hunting and gathering at the local market. I have two hungry teenage boys so we were out of everything! I shopped, checked out (once again forgetting my cloth sacks, sigh) and loaded up my car with bags and bags of goods.

I was half way home when I heard a POW! What the? It scared the #@!* out of me so I looked behind me just in time to see two milk jugs go tumbling and BBQ potato chips go flying through the air like shrapnel. Yep, apparently I took a corner on 2 wheels, the milk shifted and landed on the hermetically sealed bag of chips, causing a Mythbuster-esque explosion (www.discoverychannel.com/mythbusters). Thankfully it was only the chip bag that broke and not the milk jugs-there's a never ending gift to the senses!

My first thought was the urban legend (http://www.snopes.com/) about the lady who got "shot in the head" with her own Pillsbury dough tube while driving home from the grocery store! I went from OMG to LOL and although the chips were reduced to crumbs, my hungry teenage boys ate them anyway.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

A furry little friend



Our friends/neighbors left for San Fransisco this week, leaving us in charge of their gerbil, Rose. Did you know that gerbils are nocturnal? yeah...Rose goes in a room by herself at night! She sure is cute tho.

Monday, March 16, 2009

My first award! and now I get to pass it on...


First I would like to thank SassyGlassDesigns for awarding me with the “Sisterhood Award." This is my very first award and I am thrilled!!

Per the rules, I will be passing this award on to 5 other blogs…although there are many I would like to give it to. Here are the nominees:

Here are the rules:
1) Post the award on your blog
2) Pass it on to 5 other blogs
3) Link to the person you received it from
4) Link to the nominees
5) Let each nominee know they are receiving the award

Sunday, March 15, 2009

My hubby can get creative too!




Bert is a handyman by trade and a couple fo weeks ago, he found himself between jobs. Thankfully this is a rare occurance since he is the breadwinner of the family! He decided to keep himself busy with projects around the house and came up with some great furniture out of repurposed materials.

This side table is made from ALL hardwood flooring!

This shelf unit was made from the sides of our old water bed frame-ugly and dated when it was a waterbed, now it is a beautiful addition to our library area. Amazing what a little sanding and fresh coat of varnish will do!









Saturday, March 14, 2009

A look in the rear view mirror


It's no wonder I haven't posted since Sunday! I was trying to figure out why I hadn't gotten back on here and now I know-two meetings on Monday night (After Prom and school Boosters)

Two fer Tuesday-Pool board meeting and ladies investment club, Wednesday I met with a client for her wedding video, took on extra shifts at work on Friday (4am to be all serious and do news casts and late afternoon to report Friday commuter traffic horrors!) In between, I did our club's monthlies, year end and taxes, the pool's accounting and bank deposits (membership drive time) I have two cheer videos due on March 28th so I'm gathering, scanning, downloading photos and video for that, carpooling play practice before and after school...

My life is such that these busy weeks come and go, so I have two different 'styles' of how to deal with life. There's the "getting things done but feeling out of control and stressed while doing it" and the "I have so much time, what do I do first?" Since this "feast or famine" can come at any moment, I feel like I've never gotten completely efficient with either one!

I'm not complaining nor am I looking for a medal because I don't have a full time job on top of it. My respect and hats off to those of you who do this type of thing every week and with a FT job! Always on top of everything, organized, getting things done...no? it doesn't feel that way to you? Well, take comfort in the fact that you've pulled it off to the rest of the world! (and I wanna be just like you when I grow up)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Daylight savings time is back...no, forward

Spring Forward, Fall Back...Daylight Savings Time comes around twice a year - in the Spring we lose an hour and in the Fall it comes back. Most folks probably don't give it alot of thought-we change our clocks, grouse about losing an hour, cheer when we get it back and move on with our lives. We might even forget and show up late/early to work or church. Thankfully our computers and cell phones are smarter than us and change automatically. How would you like to be the official giant clock changer?

Have you ever stopped to wonder what it is all about though? Most people in the US participate in this ritual, how about the rest of the world? Why does Arizona not participate? Who started this and why? Follow the clouds at this link to learn all about DST:

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Fun and creative sites to browse

I love finding new-to-me websites to visit and be inspired by. Here are a few I just stumbled upon recently-check them out if you haven't already:

http://www.junque.net/ Mandy's intro on her home page described my style perfectly (and we've never met). Can't wait to go back and buy some stuff.

http://www.artellaland.com/ Gorgeous home page and what a fun site to explore!

http://www.gomakesomething.com/ check out the FREE printables

Feel free to add links to your special places!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Help with my photo struggles

OK, I've set up my light box, picked colors, textures and backgrounds and taken a bunch of photos. I'm still learning about my camera-a Kodak Easy Share Z612 and struggle a bit with the limitations of this camera. (or maybe it's the limitations of the owner!)

Either way I need your help. The memory cuff and the cowgirl pendant are the most accurate in color all around. The jewelry in the other shots is an accurate portrayal but the backgrounds vary with each shot! Why am I getting pink in the background when it is a stark white background and varying shades of browns and oranges when it is the exact same beige background, same lighting, etc??

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong with my settings or lighting, so I'm off to search the Internet for the answers. In the meantime, add your helpful hints, share your knowledge so this struggling photographer (and anyone else who wanders by) can eliminate bad photos once and for all!



























































Wednesday, March 4, 2009

lightbox update





My camera is now recharged so I'm able to upload the pics of my "ugly but cheap" light box. If you are looking for a way to take better pictures of your handcrafted items, this is certainly a way to do it with items you probably already have on hand.

Now on to experimenting with different backgrounds. As soon as I have a few to show, I'll post them on here and you can vote on your faves.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

lightbox for $1.19

In an effort to take better photos of my jewelry for sale on Etsy (www.allofasutton.etsy.com), I researched light boxes and how to make them.

I found a great one at http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

I found a square box, some tissue paper, clear packing tape and purchased a poster board. That's where the $1.19 comes in-I would not have spent a dime if my youngest hadn't needed the poster board I had for a project. (kid's homework takes priority)

I took photos of the finished project and fully intended to put photos on here for you to see. However, my camera's battery died and now I have to recharge before I can upload, so photos coming soon. In the meantime, check out strobist for the instructions I used.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Show off your goods!

Thanks to SoapDeli (www.soapdeli.etsy.com) for posting a great promo idea and giving the instructions to go with it (I need all the instruction I can get!) I just followed the instructions/links she gave and now I have a spotlight on www.byhand.me and am helping support other artists by having a window shopping section on my sidebar here. (look to the right)

If you are looking for another way to promote your handmade goods-this was fast and easy! See the original post here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6053266