The Sunday 5

Wow so much is making me happy this Sunday. Right now I am having a ball watching the Grammy's with my roommates! But it was the start to my day that was really fantastic! In fact its #1 of the Sunday 5! Without further delay...

1. Getting up early- this is really hard for me usually so I was proud of myself to get up on a Sunday Morning.
2. Walking Sunset Cliffs this morning. Pictures and story to follow...
   
3. Having frozen yogurt for breakfast! Strawberry and Pineapple with strawberry pieces, YUM!
4. 3 loads of laundry. Today I did three loads of laundry and now have a closet full of different outfits! Exciting!
5. Staying in touch with all my Seattle people via Twitter. Its amazing and we stay connected this way. Sometimes I am amazed with technology. Twitter to my phone?? AWESOME!!

Sometimes, especially when I am home for a long break, I really rag on California. I even refer to it as the land of the vain. But that is just me being negative Nelly. Today when I was walking the cliffs with my old roommate Denise, I remembered just how much I love San Diego and the beach and USD. Sometimes my Pacific Northwest friends taint my opinion of Southern California, because they might not like it. But I it love here, I chose this place and I love it. So here's to San Diego, where all of the Sunday 5 took place this week. California YOU ROCK!!!

Sunset Cliffs...a story in Pictures!

Isn't it pretty? The park is mostly a trail right along the cliffs. It was warm but the cliffs have a nice ocean breeze and spray! Lovely!

This guy's surfboard broke in HALF!!

We did in fact see a rescue! I surfer apparently lost his board? And then I saw this guy jump off a cliff and try to rescue him. Well he failed! The guy was totally stuck in a spot by the cliffs that was pulling him every which way. The guy who jumped in ended up leaving him. Then a life guard came and got him. Then a boat came to pick them up, and THEN a helicopter flew over!


What can I say, has there ever been a better argument for The Heather Cam? If you have no idea what The Heather Cam is, it all centers around all the crazy things I see. But if I were to wear a camera on my head, like a helmet camera, I could document all the loco stuff I see.
Happy Sunday!!!

Gone Thriftin'

Just like the title above sugests...I recently went to the thrift store, and the dollar store which I consider thrifty! Oh yes I did! Want to see what I got?

First a side note: The best part is what happened on the way from the Salvation army to Trader Joe's. So my partner in crime, Denise, and I tried to get from the thrift store to TJ's. They are about ten minutes apart...maybe? But I couldn't take a left out of the driveway back towards TJ's so I went right. Well Denise and I have been at USD for 4 years, so we thought we could find a new way to TJ's on our own. Boy were we wrong!! Like seriously WRONG! We went through a series of rights and lefts through neighborhoods we didn't recognize until finally we got on top of a hill to get our bearings. Just like Bear Grylls from Man Vs. Wild taught me! But what did we see? The ocean of all things!! Trader Joe's is on the bay side of the point NOT the ocean side. So I made a bold choice. Go to the ocean and turn and hope to find the bay. Here we stumbled into a park. This park was beautiful, with a meandering trail along the cliffs. The ocean was filled with surfers. It was so pretty and amazing we are going back tomorrow! But then the road along the ocean ended!! A dead fricking end!! I mean come on!!! To make the rest of this long story short we eventually wound out way out and got to TJ's, after about 45 min!!! Ridiculous!! It should have been 10 minutes!!! Turns out, Denise and I do not know San Diego as well as we thought. But we certainly learned a lot on this crazy journey.

...But I digress back to the thrifting part of the adventure...

Here is the group all washed a ready to be transformed by color and embellishments. Can't you just taste the possibility?

Yes those are pumpkins on the towels. I can't help it I love Halloween!

Want to know what else was AWESOME!! The salvation army was having a blow out fifty percent off sale! And I didn't even know about it!! I just stumbled in there, extra sweet!!

Here a few of my favorite ones. I just love working with the different shapes. This one here, so different -->
The top part is so different. It will probably end up being two toned to emphasize the two halves of the vase! I just love it, it is defiantly my favorite out of the bunch!!

I don't know why but I am really grooving on anything that has edges. Hence this beauty I picked out. What's really cool about this one is that the edges are on the inside. The outside is perfectly smooth! It looks like it will be perfect as a glowing candle holder.

Once I got home I couldn't contain myself and the crafty energy was flowing through me. So I started one piece that I haven't shown you yet. It is kind of like a fish bowl, pretty big too. But I found the perfect color. So here it is in all its unfinished glory.

I am not sure where to go from here. But I think the turquoise needs to be darker so I will soldier on until more inspiration strikes. I am thinking blue to go with it. Something blue defiantly.

I also worked on some earrings this evening. Afterward, I was browsing the web, like I do, and I found the BEST sight. Confetti.com!!! My Oh MY!!! This place is a dream for anyone who loves sequins, like ME! Can you tell how excited I am?? Well my advice is that everyone check it out!!

That's it I'm out!! Tune in tomorrow for the Sunday 5!!

Who Loves Sparkles???

A while ago I showed you all a couple of pictures from my etsy shop! And today I am excited to announce a new line, so to speak, of pieces I am proud to offer. Earrings!

Like my candle holders and vases, these earrings will have that little sparkle and pizazz, that embody my sense of style and personality. So far I have just listed one pair but expect more to come! They are made of 3 sequins. A large pink and purple and a small translucent pink. They are on a fish hook style earring and made with quality jewelry making supplies. From the base of the hook part itself the earrings are about 4cm or 1.5 in in length.

Here are some pictures!

In other store news, today is Friday which means, I will be shopping around for new glass pieces to work on this week. Since I only have 2 classes in the mornings on Fridays this will hopefully become my routine. Shop on Fridays and work on pieces throughout the week. This means more items into the shop on a semi regular basis. If you know someone who would like what I make please send them my to my store.

Happy Friday!!!

Sunset

This is what I came home to this evening after my 5:30 class...

Tomorrow is Friday! Oh Happy Day

Hold Me Accountable

So I was over at Pickles the other day. And they had this amazing free cardigan pattern. It is just lovely. I am sharing this because I want you all to remind me to knit it again when I am out of college and have a steady income. Or when I become a huge success on Etsy!

Here is the picture from their sight -->

The best part? They recommend yarn from their shop and its not to expensive either, even if you upgrade from merino wool to cashmerino. For all you non knitters, cashmerino is a blend of cashmere and merino wool, which is also very soft. Even better, it has a slightly open fabric and a double strand, so it will knit up fairly quickly on larger needles. I can't wait to knit it! So, call to action here, remind me!

If you want to check out the pattern yourself, click HERE.

Add Some Fleece to Your Life

Ever knit a hat that turned out just a tad too big? Or was itchy? Well I certainly have, and the solution is surprising simple. Sew in a fleece lining!

Tools:

• Fleece
• Hat
• Matching thread
• Sewing machine with zigzag stitch
• Straight edge
• Measuring tape
• Scissors

To start: Lay out your hat and decide how wide you want your lining to be. Essentially you will be sewing in a head band, so your forehead and ears won't be irritated by the yarn. I decided that 3.5 inches would be right for my hat. Decide what fits your hat and needs for this step. Next measure the circumference of your hat. This doesn't have to be perfect since you will be cutting the strip a few inches longer anyway. I put my straight edge up against one edge and used a rotary cutter to cut in 3.5 inches. Of course you can use plain old scissors and it will work just fine.

Next place one short edge of your strip at the center, inside, back, of the hat. At this point your hat should be inside out. Pin the short edge in, and head over to your sewing machine. Here using a semi wide zigzag stitch is going to be your best bet. The widness helps prevent the knitting and fleece from puckering. Here is what I used

After you have sewn in the short side, pin the lower edge. Since the hat gets smaller as it goes up the lower hat edge will probably be slightly longer and should be sewn first. After you have sewn in the bottom edge, iron the strip and your hat. This will help smooth out minor puckers from sewing something this thick and stretchy. Now you should pull the strip taught and pin the upper edge of the band slightly tight. This will compensate for the slightly smaller circumference at the top edge of the band.
To help sewing the upper band part, I took off the arm of the sewing machine. If your sewing machine has this capability DO IT!! Very helpful! So after you are done sewing the two lines you need to cut the excess so you can sew the final short side of your band. Cut so the ends ever so slightly over lap each other. This will create a perfect match up when you sew the final side since stitching it down will pull it in slightly. When you are done it should look something like...

And

Now if you didn't do a perfect job sewing some of your lines you can trim the excess outside the zigzag stitch. But be careful not to clip your sewn stitches or your hat! I cut the corners of the short sides so they won't poke when the hat is being worn.

So there you are a wonderful fun hat with an equally fun purple soft lining!
Bring on the cold, right?

The Happy Triggers

This Sunday is an extra anxious Sunday. See tomorrow is the first day of the spring semester here at USD. But I am feeling pretty calm. I was waiting the tummy ache, or the chills, or the freak out to come. And, well, it hasn't. Which is great, no complaints here. At first I thought, finally I have outgrown the Sunday night tummy aches, on this my very last semester of college. But what I was quick to realize is that I have just learned my happy triggers. While I sat on my bed contemplating the new week about to start I had an idea. Why not share my happy triggers with the world and ask you guys for yours. Thus begins...



The New Sunday Tradition

Every Sunday, on this here blog, I will be sharing 5 different things that are making me happy right now. This week, and, I am sure many weeks to follow, my list will consist of music that is keeping me upbeat and positive. All I ask of you is to add a song or five in the comments section, that makes you happy. Consider it a happiness trigger karma bank, give a penny take a penny, so to speak. So without further ado here are my top five happy songs for this my very last first week of school!

1. Moondance- Van Morrison
2. I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas
3. Whatcha Say- Jason Derulo
4. Just Say Yes- Snow Patrol
5. Strawberry Swing- Coldplay

Happy Sunday!!

New Years Resolution?

Is that new years resolution to get fit going well? If this sounds like you this next tutorial is right up your ally!!

Sweater Revamp!!
So I have this sweater...



I kind of think its icky! It is not made of very nice fabric, all the edges are nasty and as you can see the back is longer than the front. And if you think about that, having the back longer than the front is only going to be exacerbated on a lady... ya. So I just bought a cute v neck ruffle tee shirt from j crew and two amazing v neck sweaters at the Gap. So I thought I am going to make this sweater into a V neck, they look better on me anyway. But while I was messing with it, I also decided I would spruce it up a little more. THis sweater is TOO big now. It is stretched out and doesn't fit any more. So for part one of this tutorial I will be showing you how to bring in a sweater and create a more slim fit! Perfect if you have been hitting the gym as part of your New Years Resolution.

Tools:

• Sweater
• Sewing machine- need to use either a zigzag stitch or an over lock stitch
• Scissors
  
• Matching thread
  
• Measuring tape or ruler
• Safety Pin
• Washable marker- something non permanent to draw on your sweater with
  

One tip to start- you are going to get a better fit if you are willing to try the sweater on every once and a while in this project. To make this project go faster wearing a tank top so you can just throw on the sweater, is ideal.

To start try on your sweater. You want to take off even amounts from both sides so pull the sweater away from your side and measure how much you want to take off from each side. I took off an inch on both sides of my sweater. Any time I mention an inch just insert how much you are taking off your sweater or tee.

Next turn your sweater inside out and lay it out in your work area. I put a safety pin where I wanted to go in. I did not slim the sweater through the bust, only the torso.

Next you want to measure an inch out from the current seam. I used an erasable marker to draw what will become my new seam.

I drew right along my straight edge until the safety pin.

Once you get to your safety pin draw a diagonal line that meets up with the original seam. You can see my line 2 pictures up. Now just sew up your line! You have a couple choices here depending on the fabric of your shirt. Mine was part sweater part jerseylike tee shirt. What worked for me was using a zigzag stitch on my line, then cutting and then using an over lock stitch on the raw edges.

Here is what my zigzag looked like before I started cutting.

However I think it would also work well to use an over lock stitch and then cut very carefully right next to you line. If you choose this method make sure you don't pick an over lock stitch where the needle has to miss the edge of the fabric. If the fabric of your shirt does not fray you can skip this and just do the zigzag. If you want to clean up the raw edges then do an over lock stitch. I really all depends on the fabric. However I did both and then trimmed after the over lock stitch.

After sewing up the sides try on your shirt again. Is the fit ok? Maybe you want to make it smaller. Here is your chance to make another line. If you need to go in further be aware that you have to be willing to make the new line at least a half to a quarter inch further in so the old line will get cut off. Remember that is on both sides!! So try hard to get your line right first, or if you want to experiment baste the lines first and try on your sweater.

After my over lock stitch and trim

Turn your revamped sweater right side out and press the new seams. Where the safety pin was will be a little funny but if looks fine after it its ironed. Well isn't that swell, an old sweater is good to go once again!

Part 2, where this sweater becomes a V neck, won't be for a while since I left this sweater in Seattle with the sewing machine...

...and to end, a fun picture of my kitty, Emily all wrapped up in my bed...

Back To School

Monday begins the final countdown until I can rock out to "Schools Out For Summer" for the final time in my life, fingers crossed!! In case you are wondering exactly 4 months from today, May 23rd, I graduate with my degree in finance and minor in economics!!

Tomorrow I will head to the airport and jet back to San Diego. So until I get settled and back to craftin I will not have much to say. Unless you all want to hear about my classes. But I can already tell you they will be boring and I would probably fall asleep at my keyboard typing up the 'lowlights'. But the good thing is I will be back at it right away. I am finishing the flap hat, some glittens and my cousin just asked me to make him a crazy hat as well. So I will have some knitting projects and patterns to share soon. Also before I head out tomorrow I will be lining the knitted hat I told you all about so the pictures should be up for that tutorial soon too!

Sadly I did not have enough time to finish my football themed box, so it will have to wait until I am back in Seattle, spring break probably, since the box is too big to travel with. Sports fans don't fret, I promise some sports projects in the interim. Speaking of sports I am so bummed, tomorrow my flight is at 3PM, so I will be at the airport and in the air during the NFL playoffs. I am hoping the Vikings lose and the Colts win!

Well wish me luck, my last semester of college!! I hope its easy, interesting, and goes by quickly. Can anyone say senioritis ?

Cheers!

Baby Blues

I just HAD to share the baby sweater I recently finished. I have been working on this sweater FOREVER. Literally, I bought the yarn this summer! I finished the back while I was on vacation in August. Then I realized that if I didn't finish it in time for Christmas it wouldn't fit the intended toddler. So while I was at school I struggled through the moss stitch until the entire sweater was done it. Let me tell you, PAINFUL!! Moss stitch is sooo much worse than seed stitch. But I eventually finished all the pieces. So then I brought the pieces back with me when I came home for Christmas. I decided that I wanted to put the pieces together with the sewing machine. I have never done this before, I always sew by hand with yarn. But I was ready to take a step towards a better garment. SO I threaded up my mom's sewing machine and put right sides together and sewed it up.

One tip- Make sure you iron your pieces before you start sewing. I checked the sides I was about to sew to make sure they were the same length before I started pining and sewing. With an iron you can stretch or squish the pieces so the lengths are equal. Taking the time to iron your pieces makes your finished product SOOOOO much better. I promise it is worth the time. Make sure you press the seams open before you sew another seam that goes through it. This happened when I sewed the sleeves and the sides. First you sew the shoulders and the sleeves in. You sew the sleeve in but they are open, not a tube yet. When you sew up the sides and continue to sew the sleeve together you sew over the shoulder seam and the arm seam. But if you press the first seams open it works a lot better. I pressed all my seams open, just to make it a bit more comfy to wear. Unlike a regular sewn garment, I did not sew the seams open. That wouldn't work well on hand knitted pieces.

WOW why hadn't I done this before? It was faster, stronger and better than anything I have ever sewed myself. So here is the final reveal....


One feature I really liked was the blanket stitch around the edges. One part I didn't like? The hood comes to a point. I thought it looked insane, but everyone else loved it! If I were to knit a hood again, I would try something different. You might also notice I didn't put on any buttons. He is in a chewing phase right now and I was afraid he would chew them off! Finally that moss stitch, I really like the way it turned out and the moss stitch is part of that. However I probably won't knit something in moss stitch for a while!! I need a break!

Can you say exhausted?

Well I certainly can! So where have I been since my last blog post? Having the time of my life? Sleeping? Watching TV? Nope! I have been working! And finally some of this is ready to be revealed! I have my first listings on Etsy! I cannot even contain my excitement. Today I listed three valentines themed candle holders, a larger yellow candle holder, and a blue vase. All are handmade and one of a kind. All the candle holders can also be used as vases. Just a little add for myself and here are some pictures to wet your appetite!

Pretty Right? Well I think so. To check out the rest and more pictures click HERE.

So what else have I been working on? Lots and lots of projects that I am almost ready to share with you here. First I am working on a football themed Mod Podge project. It would have been up here already but I cannot find quite enough extras. But I will give you a hint! The top is covered with a calendar page that has one of my favorite University of Washington players on it. I am quickly discovering that calenders make great inspiration and have perfect images to Mod Podge with. I will never throw a calendar away again! I already have a panda one saved, I love pandas!!! Can't wait to see what that turns into!

What else is on the horizon? A new knitting pattern! Yep a while ago I knit a hat for a friend of mine and now I am making a pattern of my own. The ear flap hat is coming your way soon!! Here is the one I already made and the inspiration for the pattern I am working on now!

An Action Shot!!

After that a tutorial will follow with instructions on how to line the hat with fleece in case you made the hat a little big or used a itchy yarn. The hat from above was a little itchy so I will use it in the tutorial. I have one more big project, actually a gift up my sleeve as well but that's a secret for now. All I have to say is, inspiration strikes in the oddest of places!!

Well that's all for now, but a lot to look forward to in the coming days! Talk to you all soon!

Business Sense

As some of you may know I am trying to start up my own business. Over the past couple weeks I have been making pieces for sale, working on my own website, and starting this blog. Needless to say this has been keeping me quite busy. I have always wanted to have my own business and while it is hard work so far, just to get everything set up, it is a labor of love!

I bought this book at Barnes and Noble from the Missing Manual series, called Creating a Website. It's a lot more complicated than I thought. Luckily I am working with a 60 day free trial of the Microsoft web page editor. This makes designing a website more like creating a Word document or PowerPoint presentation, but still not something I can churn out in a weekend. Once I get that up and running it will link to this blog, my future Etsy store and some other exciting features to be revealed. I already bought my domain name www.waxeloquentbyheather.com so look for an announcement coming soon when the page is up and running. Very Exciting!

In other news, I should have five pieces on Etsy.com this weekend and I have three in the wings that should be up soonish as well.

The task really getting me down? Of all this tasks upon me right now while starting my handmade business, what am I avoiding the most? Maybe the thing I am trained to do? Well if you guessed Accounting, GOLD star for you!!! Yep the finance major, who has worked in accounting for three years is completely dreading working out the books for her business. I need to enter all my receipts and figure out the cost for me to produce each piece. But have I opened an spreadsheet yet? Nope. I do have a pile of receipts by my feet a good start I say. Tomorrow is a new day and I promise I will at least open a spreadsheet. I guess I have to anyway if I am going to list anything on Etsy. Have to figure out the price, right?

So tomorrow after I have taken pictures of my new pieces, input all my receipts, and listed five items on Etsy I hope to have a fun Mod Podge tutorial for you all. The theme? Oh, just one of my favorite things, football!! I figure lots of craft people make lovely gifts for the females in their lives, why leave out the boys. So stay tuned for a fun football theme project for all the little boys in your life!

Glittervention

So what is there to say about glitter? It's amazing, and sparkly? It gets everywhere, hard to control, and TOO sparkly? Well here are some tips so you can experience the softer, sensitive side of glitter.


~Your Plan of Attack~
The trick is in all the friends you bring along. The tools of the glitter tamers trade: fine tipped glue bottle, a medium paint brush, wax paper, Mod Podge, clear spray sealer.

First determine if you want to add fine designs, like outlines or words, or more chunky designs like filled in shapes. For fine work you should use glue with a fine tip applicator. I used the glue that came with the 3 pack of Martha Stewart Valentines themed glitter I picked up at Michael's last week. Its a pretty small amount of glue but I have seen larger bottles. I would stay away from something like Tacky craft glue, its too thick. Think more of an Elmer's consistency. Set up your work space and cover that area with wax paper. Glitter isn't super cheap and glitter doesn't stick to wax paper so you can pour it back into the container.

Next use your glue to draw your design. Cover the glue with glitter, don't be conservative here really cover the area with glitter. Remember you can pour most of the excess back into the container.

For filled in shapes, like circles the best technique I have discovered is to make a stencil. For a small circle trace the bottom of a shot glass on stiff paper, like a note card. Cut out the shape and lay your new stencil on the object to be glittered. Here instead of glue Mod Podge works perfectly. Hold the stencil down, or even tape it if the surface allows, and paint on the Mod Podge. Then pour on the glitter. Blow off any excess and carefully peel the stencil away.

From here on the directions are the same no matter the type of glitter design you are working on. Wait for the glue to dry, no touching!! Once you are sure it's dry, one clue- the glue turns clear, start brushing away the remaining glitter with the paint brush. If you are glittering on a surface that is slightly sticky, say it is coated with Mod Podge, make sure you don't leave the step for too long. The longer the glitter sits on the sticky surface the harder it is to get off, I had to use my finger nails on a piece I left for about 2 days. Just make sure your glue is dry!! Next carefully cover the glitter design with a layer of Mod Podge.
Wait for this to dry. Here you can add another layer Mod Podge or go straight to sealing. If your piece is finished hit it with a few coats of a clear sealer. This seals in the glitter and makes your piece water resistant, but NOT water proof. After the sealer drys you can touch the glitter area and it won't even rub off on you.

A tip for recovering your excess glitter- Fold the wax paper down the middle, that will make tapping it back into the tiny mouth of the jar a lot easier. When you can't seem to get anymore, take the cap and scrap it along the fold to save the last little bit of sparkle.

Well I hope this helps everyone who suffer from glitter-phobia. Glitter is a fun and fabulous tool to have in your craft arsenal!!

Note: This technique works well for surfaces that you have already used Mod Podge on and items that need to be sealed anyway.

Side note: I just watched an especially gripping episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive, a show that Animal Planet must have picked up since if used to be on Discovery. If anyone is interested in reading about an amazing woman and her dog that shouldn't be alive, an article about her tale can be found here, check it out!

A Favor For a Friend

So a while ago a friend called me up asking for some Glittens. Having never heard of this new term I asked and found out that glittens are all the rage in the cold parts of earth. Part gloves part mittens they are the perfect combo for fluctuating temps and easy finger access to text like we young people do ALL THE TIME.

Now said friend asked for a warm oatmeal color yarn, slightly hard to come by in Southern California, where it was still pretty warm. I went to my favorite craft, yarn and sewing store that is near my college, The Grove. Here the lovely lady helping me pointed me toward this beauty.

As you can see it knit up quite nicely. While she may not have received the requested oatmeal colored glittens I was pretty happy with how they turned out. See for yourself.

~Non Knitters Turn Back Now! Knitting details to follow...~

I used this pattern I probably found on Ravelry. The pattern was pretty easy to understand and I did fine until the part you flip over. I picked up the stitches called for but didn't use my head and started the decreasing right when the length covered just the finger parts. Well I didn't think that the fingerless tops are quite short compared to actual fingers so I had to rip back and make the tops a lot longer to cover the tops of fingers comfortably. If I were to do the pattern again? I would make the flip tops wider by a couple stitches. It was kind of tight on even my little hands. I also omitted the button and loop contraption from the pattern, per customer request.

Sports ... Crafts? Yes Please!

Gifts are my thing. I love love love finding the perfect present for a friend or family member. I have this file on my computer (note to persons with access to said computer, don't go looking for this file!) where I put links and ideas for all the people I need to get gifts for. Mother's Day, Christmas, Birthdays, you get the idea. So when I found THIS post online I knew I found the perfect gift for another sports fiend friend.

So Chica and Jo spell it out but I thought I would share my experience and the following gift receiver reaction. Stay tuned for that pic!

The biggest roadblock in this project was squaring the piece of AstroTurf the kind people and Home Depot sold me. Thankfully I was at home for the holidays and my dad, a general contractor by trade, helped me with this time consuming task. Frankly, it wasn't super important that the rug be perfectly square. I folded the turf the long way and squared it off that way. It worked pretty well however I'll warn you, don't use a utility knife on your nice backyard concrete, ours is all scratched up and some people aren't to happy about it. Yikes!

Like Chica and Jo I used duct tape for the yard lines. However unlike Chica and Jo I used puff paint for the numbers. I used stencils, usually used for spray painting addresses. So far according to the new owner the painted numbers are holding up fine.

Hopefully your puff paints aren't as old as mine, can you say hand cramp, I can barely type it!

And as my final magic act I wrote Washington in one end zone and Huskies on the other. Yep we're UW Husky fans around here, and we don't take kindly to Dawg haters round these parts!! And while I may be a fan of one team in the Pac-10, a ducks fan I am not. I just have to give it up to the champs of this years Rose Bowl. Any team that defeats the Ducks wins a gold star in my book so here's a big heyyoooo to the Ohio State Buckeyes and for the Final Final a picture of the winning coach!!

As for the gift receiver reaction? Well the day of I got a great picture of the reaction, the verdict 2 thumbs up. While I may want to share that picture I don't want to turn readers into enemies. Posting your friends online, they may not like it. But you know how I really knew she liked it? Her and a roommate playing paper football, you know the kind all the boys play in grade school, using the rug!! Hey score one for the gift giver!

My First Post!

Well how exciting, I have decided to enter the blogging world! After months of reading all the other fantastic craft blogs out in cyberspace I have decided to enter the fray. I figure if I have one tenth of the craft prowess all my favorite bloggers have, I'll be fine.

So, my plans for this humble receptacle of my thoughts? Talk about crafts of course, one of my few true loves! Other topics may include college life, small business owning, finance? I promise I won't bore you, but I am a finance major. Really though, I think some interesting stories might pop up between my last semester of classes in sunny San Diego, job hunting and of course crafting.

So welcome all and I look forward to hearing from all of the readers I hope to attract and entertain!