You know what I love?

Giveaways. Some companies (or seriously generous people!) give away some of the coolest things in the name of advertising (or really, they are just generous and a much better person than I am!) I found this site a few weeks ago, and the entire site is dedicated to giveaways!! How amazing is that? They have several new things every day, and they just give them away! I won't lie, I'm on it pretty much every day submitting all my qualifying entries. :) I mean, who wouldn't love the opportunity to win free stuff?

Wow, now I sound like an advertiser. I promise I'm not, I just want to share so other people can have a chance to win things! (Oh...yeah. The button is in my sidebar. Click it and it will take you to the site.)

More things I love:
Ward BBQs and awesome Easter packages from home. :)

Major Frustrations

I HATE not having a camera. HATE it. Especially with this crafting/sewing obsession. I really want to post pictures of all of my stuff (mostly to motivate me to do more. If I "have to" post about it, I'll come up with (or find) more things. And, with the helpful critiquing of fellow bloggers, I will be more motivated to make better and cooler things!). And I can't do any of that without a camera! Describing something just doesn't cut it, most people are visual, they need to SEE something! (I am one of those people). I thought maybe if I use a tutorial from another blog or website I could post one of their pictures of the final product on my blog, but most of them don't want that, and email all these people about using one of their pictures is just too much work. It would be much easier to have a camera. But I don't! Such bad timing to lose one. Grrrrrr.

Ok, rant over. Hopefully after my birthday in a few weeks I'll have enough money to buy a new one and life will be wonderful. :)

This is the project I finished today. I LOVE it. I think it's so scary, it's cute! I didn't see any disclaimers on her site, so hopefully I'm good with this one.
Mine is a green print with a brown underbelly. I love it. Tutorial here.

Update: I'm so happy there are great crafters out there that are willing to share their ideas and tutorials (and pictures!). :) I got this one off of Fireflies and Jellybeans (that links up to the tutorial). Mine is made with a fat quarter with cherries on it, I think it turned out really cute!

Makeover!

For some reason I've wanted to make over everything lately. My living room, my kitchen, my wardrobe, my hair, my face...pretty much anything that can be changed I want to change it. But since most of those will be a significant investment, I settled for a new background on my blog. :)

Things I have made so far

I am loving my new sewing machine!!! Here are some things that I have made so far:

A purse out of a placemat (it's really cool, I even got a compliment on it!)
A pencil case
Two burp clothes (don't get any ideas, it's just a really easy way to practice)
A few bibs (again, they're very easy and I need practice)

Hm....that doesn't seem like that much and I feel like all I've been doing is sewing! I guess I have worked a few times the past week and I've socializied more than I usually do. But either way, I'm loving it. I bought some more fabric this weekend so I can try my hand and making clothes! I wish I had my stupid camera....it was lost in Disneyland so I don't have any pictures of my creations. Dag.

Update: I just finished "Pointy Kitty." My hardest project yet, which shows how beginner I am. Here's the link if you want the pattern, I had a lot of fun with it!! Mine is black with white stripes and green eyes.


http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/downloads/Pointy-Kitty-Pattern.pdf


Update 2: I found this really great FREE ebook online called "Crab Bags and Other Bean Beings." It has six seriously adorable bean bag animals and my new task is to make all six. So far I've made the crab (blue, of course :D) and the frog (red, for a poison tree frog.) Aren't they CUUUUTE!?!??!



http://www.greatriverbooks.com/Crab-Bags%20&%20Other%20Bean-Beings%20%5BE-book%5D.pdf

Wahoo!!!!

I got a sewing machine! A real, brand new one!!! A Singer!!! Yaiiiii!!!!! I've been wanting one so badly, my tiny one just wasn't cutting it at all, and David did the math and with all my "extra" working we figured we had a little extra money to spend, and the sweetest husband ever decided to let me spend it on a sewing machine!!! :D I'm so excited! I can now do so many projects that I've been wanting to do. I'm so excited! I have to go now, I have a lot of playing around to do with my new sewing machine! :D :D :D :D

Sharing the Wealth

I decided that it was very selfish of me to keep all of these amazing craft blogs I follow to myself, so I've added some of my favorite blogs' buttons to my sidebar! If you've got a few minutes I highly recommend checking them out. They've got some great ideas and tons of projects that I can't wait to try! Seriously, check them out!

Ps, check out makeitandloveit.blogspot.com. Right now she has a great giveaway with Dip-sy, which has some of the most yummiest dips ever!!

Check

I found this on another blog. Things in bold are things I've done. I feel so blessed to have done so many things in my life! (Well, most of those things at least) As soon as David keeps his promise to take me to NYC I'll be able to bold a lot more of these.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (I count donating almost $300 worth of furniture to DI)
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (Not well though)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Visited the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (It was only because no one was fast enough to catch it rolling on the ground)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (Thanks parents, for not taking me on this trip)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (The keyword is "seen")
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (Well, I was with someone that knew the person, but I didn't personally know him, so he was a stranger to me)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (Um, drawn?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie as an extra
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (I took karate for about 3 classes then gave up)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Until recently I was too light to do so. Now that I am, I'm too scared)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (Some day...)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (I published one for David for our anniversary...does that count?)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (Won a contest in fifth grade)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I was too scared to kill it, so someone else killed it an I prepared it)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Amy Grant!)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (Been to it though)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Made amends with someone who offended you
101. Flew in a small plane
102. Ran out of gas (Was on the previously mentioned motorcycle)
103. Eaten fried okra
104. Swam in the ocean or a foreign sea
105. Peed in a swimming pool
106. Rented a beach house
107. Hosted an exchange student
108. Been a Secret Santa to a family in need
109. Worked on a political campaign (Volunteered in high school)
110. Coached a sports team
111. Gone kayaking in the ocean
112. Certified as an elementary teacher (It's in the mail!!!)
113. Been the mother to twins!
114. Eaten sushi (I LOVE SUSHI!!!)
115. Swam with sting rays
116. Married someone you met online (No, but at an airport!)
.117. Lived in China
118. Ridden through the floating market in Thailand
119. Given your kids a big kiss and hug just because
120. Had your name in U.S.A. Today
121. Been to Mexico
122. Shot a gun
123. Mountain Biked in Moab
124. Learned to Snowboard (tried, didn't learn)
125. Originate an idea and have it published
126. Tried out for a Reality T.V. or Game Show or Talk Show
127. Wasted lots of time on blogs and the internet
128. Made up an original recipe
129. Won a writing contest (That's how I got to go to the White House, actually)
130. Won a trip to Disneyland
131. Won something on the radio
132. Had too much time to do things like this (...guilty)
133. Thrown a surprise party for someone
134. Gone without sleep for 48 hours
135. Survived in the wilderness without matches or fresh water
136. Worked at a Ski Resort
137. Taught group fitness/aerobics classes
138. Visited all 50 states
139. Lived in NYC (No but David has)
140. Roller bladed in Central Park
141. Been a member of the New York Road Runners Club
142. Ran a marathon with your Grandma
143. Visited the grave of your Great, Great, Great Grandfather
144. Totalled more than two cars
145. Had a pet----- hamster, frog, mouse, rabbit
146. Eaten a whole carton of ice cream at once (The teeny tiny sample size from Ben and Jerry's)
147. Gone tanning in a tanning booth
148. Had a ride in a limo
149. Driven a giant-front-end-loader
150. Served as a tour guide
151. Paid off a credit card in Full! (I love doing this)
152. Given everything up to be a Stay-at-Home-Mom and hold the world in your hands!