Baby Shower Bliss January 16, 2010

So here is a peak of the Baby Shower I am working on…..But it is ONLY A PEEK!!

The best buy I made was a few of these 2-tier serves. $5 from Wal-Mart…part of the Better Homes and Garden line. However they were boring, so I fixed ’em up…

Also I found a pattern for these bird cages online for free, and they fit my theme like a dream…so far theres 20 made, and I hear there are a few more in the works…

I decided to make garland…like everybody else in the blog world, so here is a tini peek at it.

I am sure you can finish that sentence…try ….”It’s a Girl”!!!

This is a Ruffle Pile of all the different garland!

So for now it is just a peek, but folks please stand by, because it’s gonna be awesome!

Life Bliss January 15, 2010

So, I could say that for the last weeks I have been couped up in the mental ward of our local hospital suffering with a mad case of Seasonal Depression, and that wars has no internet connection. I could also say that I caught a case of terrible flu and have loss all control of my fingers so I couldn’t type a blog. Or maybe you would belive that I tried a Forest Gump, and I just started running and didn’t stop, and if you saw me now you wouldn’t recognize me due to my beard, and the S@#$ on my shoe. But alas, none of these have happened….I have been so super-duper busy with a little thing called life. I am planning, crafting and living for my girlfriend’s baby shower…and boy do I have a BUNCH of cute things to share, if only I had the time to upload the pictures. My life has been uber chaotic, and folks to add a cherry on top…I started training (cycling) again. For those who don’t know, last year…well exactly one year ago I looked like this….

Yuppers, a serious injury ruined my year. During a duathlon I suffered from a stress fracture in my heel bone, that eventually became a BREAK. For the last year I have not felt myself, I had not been training and gained a few pounds and it wasnt until recently that I realized why. I just needed to get back on the bike in a serious way. I still feel “not myself”, and I decided to back to school in the fall…so my mind has been all over the place- Forgive me!!

So folks, I will be trying to upload the pictures on Sunday since the forecast says 90% RAIN and I promise some good stuff to come. I love all the people I have “met” via the blog-world, and I do make the rounds everyday I just don’t always leave comments….

So even though I feel like this sometimes…

Hopefully, with some serious support this summer will be like this..

Anthro Bliss January 5, 2010

Bouquet Of Stripes Tee $68

Sun Dot Dress $148

Florid Orbs Necklace $198

Beribboned Buds Cardi $88

Winding Road Tank $48

Set Sail Trouser $118

Best in Show Blouse $128

Ripe Berry Jacket $118

Early Blooms Tee $78

Lift off Jacket $118

Frills and Stripes Blouse $88

Friendly Competition Top $68

Oh to be a Wayfarer! Drool worthy right?!!? Or is it the thought of Spring laying months ahead. Anthropologie, why do you do this to me?

Winter Bliss January 4, 2010

A few weeks ago Virginia was a winter wonderland…those who do not know, we don’t get a lot of snow…so this was very exciting! Early in the morning, when all was quiet The Bike Man, Ridley and I took a walk on our trail in the back yard and I took some photos. I want to share them so those with fancy schmancy camera experience can give some constructive criticism.

Can you belive this guy?!? We can’t keep him out of the water, even when it’s below freezing!

Here is the Bike Man, with Ridley (left) and Cal (right), they are my favorite guys!

So can anyone help with my camera skills (I mean lack of camera skills)!?!?!?

Knit Bliss January 3, 2010

Ugh! I know I have been so Lamo lately! Well, I’ve been trying to figure somethings out in my life right now…and with thinking comes knitting, right?!?! Well, awhile back I complained that I lost a blog, and I wanted to share some fabulous yarn with you that I found on Etsy…well, the day after Christmas my yarn arrived, I was so excited I swear I had walked to the mailbox everyday knitting needles in hand. The yarn is all handspun and handpainted, which I find tedious and worth the price I paid!

So, the yarn was a little pricey, however it was incredibly worth it! It hails from an Etsy site called Pancake and Lulu, and the yarn I have been working with is called Parfait.

Parfait, $32

Citrine, $10

Chili Char, $32

Crimson, $20

Verdi, $22

Sugar Plum, $32

Spiced, $22

 

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year, The Bike Man and I have been doing some snowboarding….I wont lie, it is tougher than cycling for sure!  Hopefully this year I can become more in tune with my intuition, and be sweeter than sugar!

Tea Bliss December 20, 2009

On friday afternoon I joined my (preggo) girlfriend Kristina, and her mom for tea at the Williamsburg Inn, in Colonial Williamsburg. Kristina and I are regular afternoon tea attenders. We visit tea houses all over Virginia, and we even each had our bridal party luncheon at a tea place in town! So, this was extra special since it was our Christmas tea, and the first time we attended tea at the Williamsburg Inn. The grandest part happened when we left, while we had been inside by a roaring fire we had no idea it had started snowing! I wont lie, it was a little hoitty toitty in there, when I broke out my camera everyone looked at me like I was crazy! Because I was so crazy to bring my camera I had my flash off, so not offend any old ladies (I didn’t want to be whacked with a cane!).

Ah! Pregnant Kristina (due April 20th) Stay tuned to for the baby shower I am working hard planning!!!

So, by the end of the night, as I was driving home in the sleet and the slush, I lost my Grinch attitude for like at least 20 minutes. Hopefully with all the family time coming up I can finally be myself again.

Finding Bliss December 18, 2009

Have you ever had that time in your life where your stuck and confused? Thats me right now. Stuck. Just wondering what my purpose in life is, and how to find it. The holiday’s tend to do this to me….This year I have turned into your regular ‘ol Grinch! Thats right friends I have been Scrooged! Maybe it is the hustle and bustle of the holiday’s, and forgetting about why I celebrate Christmas. I am in a pit right now, and trying to dig out. I am not sure about my path right now, and where it will lead me, and my trust is fading. The biggest question I have is Who am I? Ugh! I know I was given talents, but I don’t feel pulled into any certain direction. So as my life keeps going on one day at time I feel more and more distant from the who I am, and what I am. I need some focus, and determination. I have started training hard again for the bicycle racing season coming up, and it has helped a little, but all it is an escape from the truth. Thankfully I have my Bike Man to keep grounded, and support me.

Today I have a Christmas Oyster Roast party and a tea time at the Williamsburg Inn, so hopefully my spirits will be lifted. I could really use a spiked glass of  egg nog right now!

Weekend Bliss December 11, 2009

 

I had a really great post to share with you all today! A fab new Etsy artist that I found with fantastic hand spun yarn….and I even ordered a bunch myself! Anywho…back to me, I went to publish the post and it disappeared never to be seen again. Since I am not myself right now, and mildly grumpy the remaking of that post will have to wait till this weekend! Until then my friends, have a great weekend filled with magical Holiday Bliss! My weekend is filled with bike races, and family time!

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Creativity Bliss December 8, 2009

While the Christmas season has now been in full swing since…like the beginning of November….I have been crafting my way through gifts, cards and warm wintery accessories! It was not until recent that I hit a creative BLOCK. Now, I know this happens from time to time, especially to sports lovin’ jocks like myself. You get caught up in something else, and before you know it the most recent crafts you’ve crafting have dust on them, and you dont know where you left off. You dont even feel like putting laundry away, making the bed or even changing the station on the boob tube (yup I said Boob)…you have lost your all out interest in being a tidy creative being. To be honest, the holiday stress overload hit me hard this week, I haven’t really been myself….my gosh I even woke up with a zit this morning (uh, did I just hear you call me Pizza Face???)! I dont feel like crafting, cleaning or moving from my bed. Anywho…a while back I stumbled upon a great blog called Pika Land……

Off to the side on the “Popular Posts” was 9 tips to be more creative, also included is 7 good books with the same genre…I was stopped right there in my tracks, I needed to know these tips, I needed to buy these books. After reading these tips again today I fell a tad bit better. Here the tips:

About fueling creativity:

1. Creativity is fueled by experiences, sights, sounds and smells. Sitting still won’t bring new ideas in; experimenting and trying new things will jog your creativity.
2. I maintain a certain pattern to the day, with my morning bath signalling me that I am starting my work with a fresh mind and spirit. After breakfast is when my day officially begins — I turn on the radio and look at my to-do list (see #3).
3. I jot down notes every night before I go to bed about what I need to accomplish the next day. This way, I’m actively placing my worries onto paper so I can go to bed not fretting about what needs to be done.
4. I have a box labeled for each different project I’m involved in. So I toss everything I have in one box, and I don’t worry about misplacing things or ideas. This one was inspired by The Creative Habit
5. I also keep a different sketchbook for different topics and ideas. I have one for business, one for random sketches and another for my writing. And in these sketchbooks I sometimes allocate different sections so that my thoughts don’t get messed up too much (there isn’t a search function on them, like a computer does!)
6. And I throw these sketchbooks all over the place, so when I have a thought I scribble it down quickly.
7. I try and find the pattern between things, and connect the dots between random things just for fun when I’m stuck in a rut. Like when I see the color yellow around me, and then I start to focus on finding yellow things — stuff that I didn’t notice before will show themselves to me. I’m heightening my sense of awareness because I’m narrowing my focus to one thing.
8. Doing things differently helps. I love calligraphy, but sometimes I seem to be stuck in a rut — it seems that I could only write in a certain way! So I stop, and see what others are doing, and try to analyze what I could do differently. A little more pressure on the downward stroke? Or how about adding more flourishes to that letter? It took me about a week of constant practice to free up my hand. If you’re stumped for ideas, have a look at Keri Smith’s 100 ideas to get you started.
9. Practice, practice, practice. Creativity is like a muscle that you need to flex regularly. I dread staring onto a blank piece of paper, but everything begins with that first stroke. I’m a perfectionist, so I train myself to not use erasers at all when I’m drawing. And if I do make mistakes, I start on a new piece of paper — that way I let new ideas in and not just dwell on what I previously did.

 

Here are some books in my collection that I pick up whenever I need a boost:

1. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp : I love this book. Twyla is a dancer and choreographer, but a lot of the things she has to say cuts across all disciplines.
2. How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum by Keri Smith : Keri reminds everyone to put on their explorer goggles and look at the world with new eyes — I did a review of her book here.
3. Living Out Loud by Keri Smith : Although the book is a little girlish for guys, I love the article she wrote about how to find what you love to do
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho : This is an amazing book that I pick up and read again and again. The message is simple — you won’t find what you’re looking for until you follow through on your dreams.
5. How to be an Illustrator by Darrel Rees and Nicholas Blechman : I like how they talk to illustrators and get their feedback on running a creative business.
6. Lines & Shapes by Lena and Mav : Amazing artists and beautiful, beautiful pictures. I have volume no. 5 and I treasure it.
7. The first issue of the Good to Know project : I like keeping a copy on my bookshelf so I can read up on what my friends have to say about being creatively stuck.

Isn’t it great when someone shares tips!! Do you have any tips to help me get through this slump, or do you ever get in a slump yourself?!?! Ugh, winter isn’t even here yet and I already have a slight case of the seasonal depresion…and I still have a rocking baby shower to plan !!!

Weekend Bliss December 4, 2009

Finally the day has come for me!! Here it is Friday December 4, 2009 and the Bizarre Bazaar in Richmond has come!! There will be tons of shopping from local (and some traveling) artists and crafts people, there will be lots of tasting samples from some of the best cooks, bakers and makers, and best of all there will be good company! I hope all of you get to visit a craft show this holiday season.

I hope you all have a great weekend, we have the possibility of snow here tomorrow….It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

-Ciao!