Day of the Dead Graffiti Art (Finished!)

Hello Everyone. Welcome to Day Two of Finishing Week.

Whew. Finishing stuff is hard. That might be why I set some of these projects aside in the first place.

Here's one of my half done projects, it turns out I quit the old version because it just wasn't me. As soon as I took it in a new direction BOOM - it was done. The frame section is inspired by a project I saw by Alisa Burke in a Somerset Workshop last winter with a dash of Crafty Chica for good measure.

I also painted, decoupaged and glittered my third sci-fi bar stool. The project floundered because JoAnn ran out of the suede fringe I was using. So I bit the bullet (after a year of waiting) and picked a new trim. Last night I was adding the new fringe - the last step - and this happened:

How? I do not know. My guess is the mean gossiping lady didn't measure very well. So I'll be breaking my "Finish, don't shop" rule and picking up some more trim.

I also finished getting my hair back to red. Three weeks ago I bleached the black out and dyed it red, but it was a soft, pale-ish, not-very-me red. I wanted RED-RED. So, here I am:

This was taken in the evening so the brightness doesn't show, in full-sun it's pretty awesome.

My ridiculously talented friend (I don't know why she still likes me, seriously) Jenna has been finishing stuff this week too and I have to show you this amazing dresser she restyled:

And the room she finished (isn't Gracie just the cutest!):

You can read more about what Jenna is up to HERE.

I can't wait to hear what you all are finishing - dig in and cross something off that lingering to-do list. My DH says that "open loops" cause stress, so do yourself a favor and close a loop!

***

On a personal note, one year ago today we decided to take our finances seriously. Since then, we've paid off our car loan, Visa bill, second mortgage and more. In addition to that, we've almost got three months of our six month emergency fun saved. Woo-hoo. What struck us profoundly is how different we are as a family from who we were a year ago. This weekend our date was one of the best ever; we played crib on the front porch while drinking wine, listening to music and watching the sun slip down behind the mountains. It was AWESOME! A year ago, AWESOME would have required an overnight at an expensive hotel, a fancy dinner, a new dress... no wonder we were in debt. I still feel like a total dork pulling out my food envelope to pay for groceries and deciding if we can buy a pizza based on the thickness of the "Family Fun" envelope; but this is good for us. And the dorky feeling is just the "pinch" I need to keep my focus where it needs to be.

Also, last week I devoted a huge amount of time to making a six week menu based on what we had on hand, shopping for what we didn't and pre-cooking as much of it as possible. For about seven hours of effort, I don't have to think about dinner beyond making a pot of rice until after Labor Day. Score! It's been seven days on the new plan and we all love it. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to two-weeks of menus and cooking. In the evening I open my cupboard door and look at my menu. Then I pull whatever is needed out of the freezer. Chris and the boys love knowing what we're going to have and anticipating their favorites. The time-savings is already making an impact on my schedule. Yay!

Finished First

Wouldn't it be nice if I was posting about a race of some sort... like, the Ironman in Kona. But alas, all I'm posting is the first half-done project I've completed for Finishing Week.

This is a canvas I made to fill in the big blank space behind our toilet. I've hated looking at that wall ever since Brayden lit the etagere on fire. Accidentally, of course. Since boys pee standing up, I thought it would be a nice place to say, "I love you" and that they'd see it frequently.

Did you see how GIRLY that turned out. Oops. I don't often end up quiet so frou-frou but it just kept leaning in that direction. The only thing to note is that if you are economizing on a project, stitching/embroidery is the cheapest way to make something look special and have that bit of texture that's always needed.

I got a bloggy award from Libby:

Isn't that sweet? Thank you, Libby!

Now to sum up my blogging philosophy... try to be real. Share appropriately. Provide ideas and stories that trigger action in others. Be helpful. Be a modern Titus 2 girlie. Don't be competitive. have fun...

Oops, the rules were, "in five words"... so:

Be Real. Have Fun. Share. 

I'm not going to nominate ten blogs, instead, if you think you have a blog with substance and want to pass it on, consider yourself tagged :-)

Finishing What is Begun But Not Yet Done

Do you have unfinished projects? Admit it, you do. You're human, right?

As I've been restoring order to my house, I've noticed that a lot of the shelf clutter that can't be minimized is half-finished projects. Like:

* A closet that is 2/3 clean. That last bit though, not so much.
* Scrapbook pages that are "in progress" not in albums
* Shrines and Canvases that have backgrounds painted but nothing else.
* Quilt blocks needing sashing and to be sewn into a quilt top (it's been about 10 years).
* Knifty Knitted partial scarves and shawls
* Our garage is almost clean.
* Half done embroidery projects
* Stamped and matted images for cards I never completed.
* Half-read books
* Half-written stories.
* December Daily Album.
* Half-eaten lemonade pie.

You get the drift.

So next week, July 26-25th, I am finishing things. Since I'm one of the poor saps not going to CHA *pout*

Care to join me?

Just leave a comment telling me some of the things you'd like to finish. I'll even sweeten the deal and send a small something to a random commenter. Sound good?

Please let me know if you post pics of your completed projects on your blogs - I'd love to see them.

Six Months Down - Six To Go

Today is six months since my surgery. Six months ago right this minute I was choking on tears as I signed a mountain of papers all of which seemed to highlight the risk of never seeing my family again.

It's been a great and terrible time for me. I've seen victories no one imagined possible and suffered pain and setbacks I didn't think I'd make it through.

Now, six months later, I barely recognize the woman I've become.

I was 30 when this began. Barely a grown up, with young kids and big dreams. Now I'm a tired 37 with teenagers and a family who worries about each step I take. It's a hard pill to swallow. While I did my best to fill the hard years with good memories, I mourn a little for what we didn't do, the fun we didn't have.

Today, according to my ex-doctors, I can start getting out of bed and trying to resume basic activities.

... like the rope course?

LOL. They meant showering and cooking dinner. I've been doing that since Day 10 after surgery. 

For a bit there I was hiking and keeping up with everyone pretty well. Then I got this nasty cold that settled into my lungs and the coughing feels like getting injured again all over. There have been some dark days the past two weeks but I  have no reason to assume they're here to stay - it's just a blip.

The weirdest part of going into something at one stage of life and popping out of it in another is I'm not sure who I am anymore. This isn't a moan-y mid-life crisis sort of sentiment - in fact, I'm positively jubilant about getting to know this older, weathered, wiser woman - it's just odd.

So many of the things I made myself good at (like crafts and blogging) were based on my inability to do much else. Now that I have options, I don't want to keep my focus so narrow.

Things I know:

* I'm creative. Art is essential to my me-ness.

* Homeschooling teenagers takes a lot more time than homeschooling eight year olds.

* We moved to a gorgeous area and we haven't explored all it's peaks and canyons.

So Nicole 2.0 will minimally be busy with those things and I'll be posting about them here.


The things I don't know list?  Well, it would go on for pages.

I hadn't really planned on writing such an introspective post, my intentions were more on the Hooray, half-way there side. But my mood has been quieter, less *SQUEAL*, a little more thoughtful. 

Thanks everyone for all the support over the last few years. You all have been essential to my success in getting better. And I still really need you as I have six months of healing left to do.

Day of the Dead Tags

I've been having way too much fun playing around with fabric, batting, odd bits of trim and manilla tags this week. I've completed a few of the GAZILLION I've made, so I thought I'd share them. 

What do you think?

Both of these are made of fabric with painted book pages on the back. They are embellished with stitching, ruffles, flowers, buttons etc. 

This guy is puffy ~

These tags are so fun to squish... yes, I am easily amused. But everyone who's seen them starts squishing them and then smiles... a lot!

These little fellows are ready for a night out on the town:

And this girl is silly-cool. I adore her. Especially how she goes beyond the tag. Thank you Steph for the embellies... I thought of you while making her :-)  She's also my entry into Tag Tuesday's Challenge #59 Heart. 

On these, the flower is hand made and I thought the pom-pom trim reminded me of a Day of the Dead banner:

The blue button center on the top tag is for the Something Round challenge for Theme Thursday.

And a couple more :

 (dude on the right is puffilicious)

Hope everyone is having a super-fab week.

Warmly,

Nicole

  

Scrappin' Again Because I'm Living Again

Nothing makes scrapbooking less fun than lying on the couch for months at a time in terrible pain. We really didn't do much last year. Yes, the kids played a lot and they had tons of fun building stuff and climbing things. But I was just too sick to even get to them to take the pictures. Sad!

Anyhoo ~

For a bunch of reasons I am doing significantly better. That's a whole separate post though; so back to the scrapbooking... we're finally doing things again worth taking pictures of. And pictures mean LOs!

Alison, the fabulous Ms July at Bombshell Stamps, issued this challenge:

 Time to have fun with photos! There are three ways to play along with this challenge!

For the Scrapbookers: Make a layout featuring a photo(s) that have a pin-up feel to it. Maybe it's a picture of you and your car. Or your daughter wearing some vintage clothes. Or your niece in a pin-up style pose. Of course, you'll want to use some of your fabulous Bombshell Stamps on the page!

For the Card Makers: Make a photo card! Using a photo with a vintage feel, make a card that includes your Bombshell Stamps! Some examples include: a super cool Anniversary card for your other half featuring a haute pin-up style pic of you. Maybe a sweet shot of a hot rod for that car lover in your life. 

For the Altered Artist: Make a fabulous creation using photos, altered art and your Bombshell Stamps! You can make a shadowbox with car memorablia and a Bombshell or two. You could decorate a frame covered with Bombshells that's housing a vintage photo. 

Here's July's Prize Package:

Get the "picture?" Now run with it! I wanna see your photos! 

Here's my kiddos bull riding up at Snowbird. They loved that mechanical bull and had to stop and give it a try between all our other activities. It was great seeing them enjoying a challenge so much.

This page uses a super old (like five years?) Self-Addressed kit, ancient Cosmo Cricket paper, my beloved Retro Cowgirl from Bombshell Stamps and Date and Journalling spot by Elle's Studio.

ATC Bombshell Fun

Hey Everyone,

We're on vacation (hence the lack of posts) but I wanted to share with you the ATCs I made to swap with the Bombshell Stamps DT.

Here's my card:

We were asked to pick a Bombshell Stamp that best suited us and I asked my kids which one they thought was most "me" - we all picked Mi Amor with a second choice being Retro Cowgirls. LOL.

Here's the ones I made for my girls:

Now pop over to their blogs and see the cool stuff they made :-)

Steph
Kathi
Alison
Erika
Cheryl
Kelli
PerkyNihilist
BoHoRose
Katie
Kas