Feed Me, Seymour...

I know I'm the last person to get on the succulent bandwagon, but I got a succulent baby of my very own today! I will have you know, this is a wise succulent, a 30 year old plant! It is now happily sitting on my kitchen counter, in hopes that it will soon grow its own babies I can pass along. Thank you, Leslie!

Meet Audrey II, a la Little Shop of Horrors:
And I will tell you what I learned from Little Shop of Horrors, don't make your plant mad.

Duly noted.

White Denim

I heard an electric song this morning called "I Start To Run" by what might be the coolest name for a band ever, White Denim. In my excitement to hear a new good song, I thought I would share with you some of my recent downloads to help get me through fall (which feels like winter after 20 inches of snow last week)...

"The Walls Are Coming Down" - Fanfarlo
"I And Love And You" - Avett Brothers
"Good Day" - Luce
"World Spins Madly On" - The Weepies
"You should Be Doubly Gratified" - Mike Doughty
"100,000 Fireflies" - The Magnetic Fields
"Little Bribes" - Death Cab For Cutie
"Fireflies" - Owl City
"If I Ever Feel Better" - Phoenix
"Naive" - The Kooks
"L.E.S. Artistes" - Santigold
"Evelyn" - Gregory Alan Isakov
"Go On, Say It" - Blind Pilot
"Galang" - M.I.A.

And since I've shared my fall playlist with you, I would love to know what you've listened to recently, or what band name you wish you had thought of first... (Rainn Wilson, I wish I had thought of "Fail Whale.")

Playing Catch Up

Having lost several days to the flu, I have been playing quite a bit of catch up. So instead of some well thought-out post, I would like to provide this picture instead since it always makes me laugh. I snapped it when my husband and I were in San Diego about 2 years ago.

Billy Goat's Gruff

After being inspired to use fabric panels as wall hangings, I was able to purchase some great new fabric from Ikea, perfect to use as art. Then, as fate would have it, one of my favorite co-crafty friends, Leslie (check her out here: Printed Press) sent me a tutorial, so it was time to get started on my project. The tutorial, found on Bella Dia, was so easy to do, I would be willing to try the "quilted hanging fabric project" highlighted on her site as a faux-headboard.

First, I purchased a piece of poster board, as well as double sided poster tape. After applying the double sided tape on the back of the poster board, it was as easy as wrapping a Christmas present (the job usually designated to me by my father when I was younger). The most difficult part was cutting & centering the fabric, but since nothing is permanent in this project, it was easy to move around to your liking. Finally, I hung it with wall putty, just in case I need to move it around. The end product was so satisfying that I'm ready to start my next project.

Any ideas for a neo-crafter?

Glee-ful

Not only do I love Glee because it takes me back to my show choir days in high school, I love it because part of me wishes I was allowed to sing "Golddigger" in choral format. Their mashups from this week's show are fabulous, I was lucky to find the links on Songza:

Boy's Song: It's My Life/Confessions
Girl's Song: Halo/Walking on Sunshine

But even more so than those things, I would really like to have Emma's (Jayma Mays) full wardrobe. Here are some shots of her outfits on Glee that I would like to replicate:




Glee is certainly my new favorite show, until 30Rock comes back next week, of course.

Sewing Inspiration

I would like to share the story of my favorite new addition to my craft room, a vintage Singer sewing machine, from my great-grandmother.

You'll have to understand that I come from a family that are expert sewers. Here's a photo of one of my recent trips home, complete with three sewing machines: mine, my mom's, and my sister's.
We succeeded on that trip creating three fabulous aprons (completed with adult supervision) that I am so proud to hang in my home, and I use as inspiration to think about my next project.
You'll no doubt assume that the bar has been set high for a novice sewer like myself based on my mother's superior sewing skills. After getting the sewing machine, I've been scouring the internet for the best first project. I finally found a good one, on a sewing blog, an iPhone Cozy that will keep my phone safe on walks with Tank. I think I like forming the idea in my head best, so I had a great time picking out fabric at Ikea on a recent trip to California. Two of the fabrics I chose (blue one & black one with small pattern)...

Now all I need is the time (and patience) to complete it! The fallback is that my mom promised we could make one at Christmastime, so I will consider my first attempt a practice round and will be fully ready to perfect the pattern later this year.

Let it go

A good reminder. Thanks to creator: i can read.