eventful events

I haven't been a very good blogger this past week.

I'll be the first to admit I've been a lazy.

But I have a good reason.

And the reason is that seriously...

nothing good happened.

No good stories. Wasn't very productive.

But I did have a very eventful weekend.

Starting with Friday.

I went to see my favorite artist, Brandi Carlile,

who opened for the Indigo Girls at the Ravinia Festival.

It was so so so

GREAT.

I went with him.

We brought a very awesome picnic basket.

Packed with subs, chips, pop, and plenty of junk food.

Yummy.

(p.s. the junk food is hiding in the basket)

And it was super crowded.

I had an unforgettable time.

I got scolded at by a Ravinia worker for taking a picture of the stage.

Boo.

We ran like there was no tomorrow to catch our train.

Then got yelled at for running by the tracks.

AND

the best part was

we missed our stop because the train was exploding with people

and we couldn't get through them.

But a very kind lady who was at the show gave us a ride

in her sweet jeep back to our car.

The jeep was topless. We had a blast.

Really. :)

Whooowhoo!

Okay. So that was friday.

Saturday I decided I needed more shoes.

So I went and got four pairs of adorable flats.

I'll save a photo of them for another day...

along with the cutest ring I bought off etsy.

Sunday I slept in.

-.-

And went to the beach later on the scooter

and enjoyed the wonderful view

while eating some great Potbelly subs.

don't you just love summertime?

We talked about how boats are so neat

and how cool it would be to have one someday.

A sailboat, or motor... or row.

So then today, Monday, I went out into my backyard

filled with the collection of random stuff my dad brings home

and just kind of hung out by the boat I want to kidnap.

Or borrow.

I want to take it out for a row sometime.

And finally

I tried to catch my puppy.

Can you say impossible?

Happy Father's Day

a whimsical weekend

flowers can make any room brighter.


lace and ribbon are the best.


my corkboard is the place for things i find inspiring.


this site has the best notebooks and paper pads.



the kids i nanny insisted i take a toy car home.
here is my favorite. & i love this flag pin.




i purchased a bunch of fabrics and some buttons from
ermisino. so very cute. can't wait to make something!


yarn yarn yarn. stocked up, i've been crocheting lately.


i got these AMAZING prints from Unravelling.
can i just say that i have never seen such beautiful,
whimsical, and intimate photography...
everyone needs one of Susannah's prints on their wall.

the welcoming bird

I took a little trip to Michaels (the craft store) for a couple of things.

I came home with four kinds of yarn

a small wreath

and a bird.

Not a real one though...

I decided the door to my room is not welcoming enough.

So I hammered in a nail and made this to hang on.

It's quite simple and inexpensive. Total price just about $2.50.

And the door to my room looks cute and inviting. I love it.

There are many different types of birds to choose from.

I liked this one, and the wire wraps right around the wreath.

Nice, huh?

Now go and make some welcoming birds for the doors in your home.

looking forward

The weekend is almost here. Which means I can pour over other people's blogs and do some more crafting. I've been itching to crochet a blanket lately.

(this flower photo has nothing to do with crocheting a blanket. except for maybe i'll make it yellow.)


And Monday: no work means I can go to the ceramics studio and do some glazing. Maybe even throw a few pieces.

Yay! I'm excited. Come faster Saturday!

p.s.

do you like giveaways?

i do

http://flaxandspindle.blogspot.com/

make a stamp

I've been pretty into making stamps lately. I like that I can make absolutely whatever I can dream up. The feeling of the carving tool cutting into the rubber calms me. If you have never made a stamp before, I really encourage it. Really. Sometimes I go to the art supply store and just wander through the aisles to find some new craft I can do. I was picking up some calligraphy ink when I saw a stamp making kit. I knew I had to try it at least once to see if I'd like it. Well, I love it. I hope you would try it and love it too.

can you spot it?

So this is the stamp making kit I used.

It comes with the carving tool, with two different carvers. A narrow one and one that carves larger areas. It also comes with tracing paper, a pad of rubber, and a sheet of stamp images you can trace and then carve.

here is the pear i drew on the tracing paper with a pencil.

the reason you use tracing paper is so that you can just

place it over another image if you want

and trace it so you make it a stamp.

you just take the image you drew on the tracing paper

and lay it face down on the rubber and just press it

and rub the paper a little.
the image copies easily.

i use the narrow "v" carver. it's easier to get into small spots.

I carve carefully around the strawberry.

just nice long strokes.

cut enough so that only the stamp image will get inked.

notice the lines and slashes around some of my stamps above.

i like it sometimes, but it's because i didn't cut deep enough.

you'll learn as you go.

that's the fun of it.

:)

this rubber pad is called "speedy cut"

and i kind of don't like it. it cuts too easily.

i accidently cut the stem of the strawberry off.

oh well.

but so you know, the kit comes with a better sturdier one.

i believe it's called "speedy carve"

i cut in the details of the strawberry.

when i cut fine lines, i just "skim" the top very lightly to not cut too much.

it takes some practice to learn a good way to do it.

take some scissors and cut around the stamp,

with enough room to not cut the actual stamp.

and

tada

-.-

this was just a rough one done for the purpose of showing you guys

but it's cute, no?

my mess

now get creative! make special stamps to decorate wedding invitations, stamp a letter, make a party a little unique. just do something fun! :)

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