My first GUEST POST!!!!!

I'm so excited to announce that I've just done my first guest post at The Pink Lab!!! Heather is a fantastically inspiring lady who is using her crafty skills and message to motivate the world. She's so successful, she's going to pull it off too!!! As a part of her Motivational Week, I was invited to write about the moment that changed my life forever. Go read it! I'm so proud to be a part of such a great week!

Click here to read my post, Jubilant Life at The Pink Lab!!!!

Random Roundup: Yarn + Biology = Win.

This version of Random Roundup is brought to you by my ecology textbook. I get the feeling it's going to be quite the carbuncle. Lots and lots of studying for that class. For your mini-science lesson today, ecology is a part of biology. Biology studies life and how organisms are formed. Ecology studies how organisms interact with their environment. In case you weren't aware, I'm kind of a biology geek. I adore learning about all the different types of life we can encounter on our pretty planet. I shoot right past adoration and into delighted tremors and squeaks when yarn and biology are combined. Talk about some "lively" crochet fun!! (Nudge, nudge...get it? Biology is the study of life, so "lively" crochet? Eh? Eh?)

Find the original picture here.

1) This first project isn't crochet (gasp!!!!) which I'm willing to overlook because it. is. so. cool. Fungi is my favorite Kingdom, after all. Leigh at BromeLeighad is knitting a different species of mushroom for each week of the year. Her series, 52 forms of fungi, is full of beautiful pictures and nerdy fun. I will be impatiently awaiting each week's installment. It almost makes me want to learn to knit. Almost.

Find the original picture here!

2) Who loves a virus? I do! I do! What's my favorite? This little guy. He's a bacteriophage. Crocheted by Oh Look, It's a Rabbit!, this idea opens up millions of microscopic crochet plushy possibilities.

You can find this picture here!

3) ELINart's etsy shop is full of fuzzy, moldy goodness. She crochets bacteria, lichen, and mold onto all sorts of fun things. I really love this "Moldy Madness" brooch. She's also done petri dish colonies in crochet. So fun!

Original picture here.

 4) Are you in need of a study buddy for your anatomy lessons? Shanell Papp at Bawdy has created that special someone for you! Her crocheted anatomically correct skeleton is sure to help you learn all of the human body's systems. I love the fuzzy green yarn used for the large intestine. Kind of gross in an awesome way. She's got some great pictures of her skeleton on display as well as the organs in jars. Check it out!

Original photo here

5) Last, but surely not least, is the Crochet Coral Reef by Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim of the Institute For Figuring. In honor of the Great Barrier Reef, this project has grown from a coffee table sized reef into several sub-reefs! When I first saw the picture, I didn't realize I was looking at crochet. I would really recommend reading this article if you are a crochet nut, it has some awesome info on hyperbolic crochet, a technique I want to learn more about! You also need to see the rest of the pictures. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.There's information on how to start your own satellite reef...anyone wanna crochet some coral with me????

That's it for this week! I hope this has got your creative brain mojo brewing! How fun would it be to crochet some of these projects? Any biology related items you'd like to see yarn form? I have attempted a human heart before, but for some reason never finished. I may just have to try it again someday! Even though history is my one true love, teaching science would be too much fun because I could fill up my classroom with crocheted fetal pigs and other icky fun. 

(Insert evil genius laughter here.)

To-Do Tuesday: The tale of the super, spoiled, crafty mama....

Remember how months back, I talked about doing a Silhouette feature if I ever got my Cameo? Guess I'm going to have to put my money where my mouth was because....

*drum roll*

I got a Cameo for Christmas.

Side note: I have the absolute best mom in the world. She's who I want to be when I grow up.

Cameo's are like Cricuts, but they use the computer instead of cutting blocks. They are soooooOooo cool.

I only have about 5 million projects I would like to accomplish with it. My favorites so far....

1. Put a funny vinyl on the side of my bath tub.

2. Make silhouettes of my kids and put them EVERYWHERE.

3. Make Emergency Contact temp tattoos for traveling with my kids. I think this is pure genius. Also, might actually come in handy because Lily likes to run first and ask permission later.

4. Never worry about a housewarming gift or wedding gift again. I'll just whip up etched baking dishes.

5. Make the list of growing t-shirts that my husband has requested.... also, make cute baby onesies.

7. MAKE THIS BAG. "I like big books and I can not lie..." Bwhahahahaha.

I could go on...oh yes, I could. 

I haven't pulled it out to play yet because I'm waiting on some supplies, but I'm sure I'll let you know when I make something. ;) Thanks again, best Mom ever!!!!

To-Do Tuesday.

I just need to start asking for Home Depot / Joann's / Michaels's gift cards for all birthday, holiday, and special occasion gifts. I have way too many projects that I would love to try. Here's some of my current favorites: 

I am particularly fond of mushrooms. They're neat. I did a Biology experiment assignment where I grew my own mushrooms (oysters... delicious!) and have been oddly enamored ever since. Here's my latest mushroom love:

I found this photo here!

I have had a hard time finding out the original ideaster behind these adorable garden mushrooms, but they're stunning. They are also a perfect excuse for me to buy those pretty crystal dishes I always see at the thrift store. What a great way to create your own fairy garden!!

Over at Patina White, there is some really neat decorating using world globes.

I found this photo here!

Every self respecting teacher needs a globe and a good inspirational quote or two. This is a match made in heaven! I will have something like this in my someday classroom. Maybe when I get over my fear of power tools. 

I have also found a way to make use of the paint chip samples I can't stop myself from collecting. I've just about got the hubster convinced that our bedroom wall would look awesome like this:

I found this photo here!

I love rainbow anything. This seems like an amazing way to spruce up a wall that I can't paint. They used painters tape to adhere to the wall, so it would be easy enough to take down. I think this would be great in our ever changing rainbow bedroom. You can find more paint chip projects here.

As if I don't already have space issues in my house, I have been trying to figure out (since we moved in) how to fit a piano somewhere. I miss playing every day and I really want my girls to learn. Also, I want to try my hand at painting a piano.

I found this photo here!

Pinterest has so many wonderfully bright, happy pianos. When I finally get a bigger house or decide I don't need a living room couch... I'm getting my piano and it's going to be painted. No boring black in my house! :)

Moving back into the land of Realistic Crafty Projects, I am loving the rag rugs I am seeing lately. And kudos to the genius who had the idea of using jelly rolls or whatever you call them (packs of fabric strips for quilting) to save time on cutting. 

I found this photo here!

No one actually mentions how long it takes them to hand sew these babies together. Anyone know? I imagine it would be fairly simple to braid the strips. However, hand stitching and I don't get along so well. I have also seen some stunning rugs done with grocery bags or with (swoon) wool roving. I can't seem to find multicolored grocery bags though, and I don't have a bajillion dollars to spend on that much roving. I'll stick with fabric! :) I did find one tutorial that used a machine to stitch the rug together, so maybe there is hope for me yet.

Well, that's it for this week's to-do list. I may accomplish one of these projects in a year or two! HA! I need to take a vacation with my crafty supplies and my sewing machine. One weekend, no sleep, and no interruptions, I could get a whole pile of to-do items done! Of course, then I would complain about missing my babies and the husbandy face. Can't ever win!

Inspiration Station

So after a wonderful weekend with the mother-in-law (who was kind enough to buy us a shiny, new air conditioner!!!!) and my sister, and my other sister's baby shower (new baby!!!!!) .... I am exhausted.

At least my sunburn is from actual sunshine this time.

I haven't had much crafty creative time, but I sure found some great ideas to try! So I am going to annoy you with commentary on each idea. :)

I have been working on this post for two days and I keep getting sidetracked. The internet had too many arty crafty fun blogs and ideas! My brain wants to implode!

So welcome to Inspiration Station... I'll be your tour guide through some happy fun today!

First up, we have a fun kiddo craft that is happening at my house as soon as the Idaho weather decides to cooperate. Key words there are "Idaho weather" so it could be August. It's Bubble Prints!

Side note: this is hands down one of the best kid art blogs I have ever seen. The blog is run by a K-6 art teacher and there are HUNDREDS of ideas. If you need something to do with your kiddo, go here. I spent an hour looking around and still didn't get bored. I want to try about 15 other things with Lily including a summer memory quilt idea that was inspired by this blog.

Next up, we have pure genius. If you are on pinterest, chances are you've seen this, but it is so amazing that I have to share it. Addicted 2 Decorating has made this amazing mirror out of.... SPOONS!

I love everything about this. It's from spoons. It has a gorgeous color fade. It's pretty. I have seen other spoon mirrors out there, but this one takes the cake. It is full of win and I can only hope some nice family member will take my children for a day sometime in the future so I can make this. It would look awesome in yellow or maybe purple.

Moving on... is an adorable headband from Love Stitched. I actually made a bracelet using this knot the other day, but I want to do a headband for each of us three girls in the house. It took five minutes to learn the knot. Plus, t-shirt recycling, always a favorite of mine. 

If you're more attached to your glue gun than your sewing machine, this is a crafty must do for you! I think I personally would sew the ends together, but that's just cause I want to use my sewing machine as often as I can get my sticky, grubby mom hands on it. I love the two-tone bands she has done as well.

And finally, for the knock-off win of the century, Besserina takes home the gold. I fell in LOVE with the Georgina duvet cover from Anthropologie.  I tried for several months to figure out how to afford a duvet that was worth as much as several months rent. I still have the picture of it. This is the original:

Isn't it stunning? Gah! Love love love it. Well, Besserina has a wonderful tutorial on how to make my own. It might take me a few years to get all the flowers done, but I am DOING this some day. She does her's for a toddler bed size...so very adorable.

It may say something about me, but I think a good knock off is even better than the original. It takes some pretty fine talent to create something from a picture and make it as good (or better) than the original. I love this in white, but it would last about 2.5 seconds at my house before getting stained, so I would have to make it colorful. 

Well, this was super fun, so I'll have to do it again. Hope you find some time to get lost in Blog land and find some lovely adventures to undertake!

Selling my crap = awesome.

Nic and I have decided we simply have too much STUFF. It's amazing, the things we have collected in the (almost) 5 short years we have been married and lived in this house.

A 1950's freezer that still works...
A pool table...
A matching set of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls...
Chandeliers, mismatched chairs, 3 aquariums, a mountain of kid toys, an extra sewing machine....

The list goes on and on. What I am amazed at, is that I keep selling it off, and it's WORKING. To me, it's useless. To other people, it's worth paying for. I love it. I've always enjoyed buying other people's crap, but now I understand the rush of the other side. Making money off what you can't or won't use. Ca--Ching!

I haven't even scratched the surface of our garage which could possibly hold the key to the lost city of Atlantis or a chest of pirate gold. There are boxes that haven't been opened since we moved in. Who knows what I will find in there? Some of it is as simple as listing the item and waiting for a reply. Other things are more fun because I get to re-paint, spruce, and otherwise put my mark on before adding a price tag. Old awesome frames that have no pictures? Repaint and sell as photography props! A whole collection of old glass bottles? With a little acetone, I'm working on turning them into glasses and candle holders (which will be the start of my etsy shop if I can get the method down.) I tell you, with each thing I sell, I am becoming more and more giddy and less enamored with the things that clutter my home. It's a game, and one I'm sure to continue to enjoy until I have all that STUFF out.

I think I finally understand the love of minimalism, the idea of living without things you don't need, for which I will now preach like an evangelist. Do we need a pool table that we play two or three times a YEAR? No. But we do need the space in our garage so we could maybe actually park a car in there. Does Lily still need her huge play kitchen that takes up the WHOLE extra room downstairs? Not really, but we could use the room as a place where I could play craft mama  or as a bedroom for Sage someday. We always complain that our house is too small, but I am starting to think it's just because we live with so much.

So if in the next while, you notice me randomly posting my stuff for sale online (LOVE the Beg, Barter, or Sell group I belong to on FB for this), it's not because I'm broke, going crazy, or harboring a secret etsy addiction. (Ok, that last one might be close to the truth, haha.) It's because I am now in love with finding the right person who thinks my trash is treasure! :)

Sweater LOVE.

I have a new obsession.

Sweater recycling.

Doesn't that sound fun?

A bit of a back story....

I recently came across a wonderful Etsy shop out there called KATWISE. This talented and quirky woman makes amazing coats that would put Joseph's technicolor dreamcoat to shame. Look at all the vibrant colors and the awesomeness of this coat!!! Also, that is her house in the background and it's now my favoritest house ever. I will never look at regular boring house paint the same way again. One colored houses are now and forever boring to me. Anyways, back to the sweaters.

I was so inspired by these that when I found out she was selling a tutorial to make my own, I jumped on it. I've spent the morning reading about how to make these darlings and as soon as I get mah grubby hands on some sweaters (why yes, the random plea for your old sweaters on facebook this morning makes much more sense, no?) I am going to town.

Now what do I do when I'm feeling uber-inspired? Why go searching for MORE projects to do of course!
I have found some really cool things people are doing with sweaters. There are sweater blankets, sweater vases, and even sweater rugs. That's just the tip of the iceberg. I am now wondering if I will have to build an extra room on my house to stock up on old wooly sweaters to play with. Haha. I adore patchwork anything and these projects make my little patchworky heart go pitter patter with excitement.

Well, I have a baby cooing at me and yanking on my dreadlocks. She's obviously not getting enough attention. Bye for now!