My Many Colored Days

And the winners are...

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Oh, did I forgot to mention that I would be out of town Friday and Saturday? Whoops. Sorry to have increased the suspense for everyone.

The winners drawn at random, are Celeste Louise, who won the Wall Candy Arts removeable decal!

And Laura Smith, who won the notNeutral Wood Bock Set!

Congrats ladies, and Merry Christmas!!! Look for an email from me!!!

Wrapping Ideas

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:32:00 +0000

I'm linking up with The Creative Girl today for fabulous Christmas wrapping ideas.

I LOVE to wrap gifts. And I was taught how by the best. My mother-in-law is an Interior Designer/Decorator Extraordinaire and I have learned so much from her (and I'm not just talking wrapping paper).

She finds beauty in the simplest things and makes simple things beautiful. I remember the first time I saw one of her wrapped gifts. I was in awe. In fact, I owe her credit for the one gift I have wrapped in my house at the moment (lol). I have saved this box for YEARS now... since before my husband and I were actually married. She gave me some Victoria Secret lotion - Pear Glace - for my birthday one year. (Remember when that scent was all. the. rage?) She put it inside this gorgeous box, which I have preserved and set out among my Christmas decorations every single year.

Now let's see if I remember correctly how she did this. She started with a plain paper mache box. She spray painted it gold and then wiped silver paint over the top with a rag... while the gold was still a little wet, giving it a swirly/marbled effect. Paper Mache soaks up paint pretty fast so it may have required more than one coat of gold...

She always uses the most gorgeous ribbon, too. I love ribbon myself. This ribbon (which is the original) is perfect for this box. I tucked in some fresh evergreen under the ribbon and tied an ornament on top (cheap at Target).

I love to use dried flowers and berries and the like on top of gifts. Even fresh flowers are fun... save those little tubes the florist gives you for the ends of your flowers and a fresh flower on your gift won't wilt before the end of the party. Spray paint magnolia leaves in metallic shades and tie on with ribbon. Copper is my favorite.

I love to tie little things onto the tops of my gifts, too. Homemade tags are so fun, especailly this time of year. You can cut pics out of the thousands of catalogs that are arriving in your mailbox, or use scrapbook paper and make your own.

I also got the idea to use buttons strung on wire, and rocks hot glued to ribbon from my mother-in-law. See what I mean? Fount of creativity, that one.

Have fun with your presents this year. And if you want a fun read on wrapping gifts, check out this book by Rachel Ashwell - The Gift of Giving.

Remember to eneter the giveaway for the Wall Candy Arts Wall Decal and notNeautral Wood Block Set here. Comments closed at midnight CST tomorrow, Friday, December 11!

Wall Candy Arts RoCoCo Decal and notNeutral Wood Block Set Giveaway!

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:20:00 +0000

I get so swept up in Christmas... I love to shop and I love to give. And I use the excuse of giving to shop more than I should. Lol. But this time I didn't have to do any of the work. Which is lovely!!!

I've got 2 really fun, unique products featured here, courtesy of http://allmodern.com. All Modern sells tons of great stuff - for home, for office, for baby and children. Some of their baby cribs and online toys are just fab. And of course (drumroll, please) you must check out what they offered to let me give away to one of you lucky folks...

Zees removeable wall decal by Wall Candy Arts, which works like a chalkboard I might add (how cool is that?):

That would look fabulous in my kitchen. Or my bathroom. Or the play room.

OR zees awesome set of wood blocks, by notNeutral:

Artsy enough for even the most discriminating of tots, no?

So here is the drill... leave me a comment (don't be shy) and you are entered to win ONE of the above. That means I will randomly select 2 commenters, and each of you will receive one of these products. And here is the fine print: due to shipping costs, this giveaway is only open to my U.S. readers. Sorry 'bout that!!!

Giveaway closes Friday so hurry, scurry!

Having creative friends, it's a good thing!

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:27:00 +0000

Let's face it, the best ideas come from other great ideas. I do believe as Tolstoy said that "art is imitation". We have to have seen something beautiful in order to know how to recreate beauty.

I am fortunate to have many creative friends. They inspire me and help get my own creative juices flowing. And we take care of each other... nurturing each other's ideas, helping bring them to fruition. Sharing our talents.

Char at Crap I've Made recently recreated these awesome peace ornaments from PB. I had been eyeing some fun ornaments in the Ballard Designs catalog, so I followed her lead and recreated my own spin off incorporating the peace sign.

Here's theirs:

And here's mine:

I even have a few simple clear ball ornaments along with that I simply painted peace signs onto using glitter glue (you know, the cheap stuff your kids like to play with?).

Now I'm not as neat as Char. I didn't cover my edges or anything. I also don't do great, detailed tutorials with step by step pictures. I just don't like to, lol. But i will tell you exactly what I did, and I will show you more pictures and other ideas that have spun off this one.

Materials used:
cardboard
dove template (see below)
scrapbook paper
silver sharpie
mod podge
triple thick
brush for application

First, trace your template onto cardboard or other stiff backing.

Cut out and repeat with your scrapbook paper.

Before cutting out the template drawn on your scrapbook paper, find yourself a cup that is about the right sized circle for your distressed peace symbol. Find a corner to trace the rim of the cup on - you want just a hint of it to show. *Lightly* trace your circle and fill in the remainder of the peace sign. Get your silver sharpie out. If you look at mine closely I just barely shaded in my peace sign, I used quick, short, straight brush strokes on either side of the single line I'd drawn with my pencil, keeping the thickness even all the way around. I realize not everyone can freehand this kind of thing, but it really just takes a little bit of practice. You might want to play around with a scrap piece of paper first. :)

Now you are ready to cut out your scrapbook dove and mod podge it onto your cardboard backing. Now, I call these ornaments but mine are not actually hanging on my tree. I opted to stick them in with evergreen boughs in various places around my house - in a bowl as a centerpiece, and on my mantle. If you want it to serve as an actual ornament, you will obviously need to punch a hole before you apply the mod podge.

Let the mod podge dry about 15 minutes and apply your triple thick as a top coat. let the triple thick dry for at least 20 minutes. The triple thick is shiny, so it makes the ornament look classy, not like you just slapped some paper on an old piece of cardboard! Love that.

Here are some additional pictures!

In a bowl on the center of my craft room table (and the big reveal on my new craft room is coming very soon):

A spin off - just brown craft paper with silver polka dots:

And since I was really feeling the natural color scheme Ballard has going on this year, I made a paper chain:

Lastly, here is a full shot of my mantle, with little silver birdies tucked in there, a crystal bead wreath, some ornaments up inside my sconces, and who knows what else to come... I'll continue to add to it, probably:

Enjoy!!!

On why I need designer jeans.

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:13:00 +0000

This year, like every year before it, I hit the doorbusters in the wee hours of Black Friday. Most of my deals were found at Target, but I also hit World market (for their buy one get one free Christmas cards), Bath and Body Works (hey, a girl needs holiday scented
soap!),...................... and Saks Fifth Avenue.

That's right, I went shopping for myself on Black Friday this year. They were having a sale on their designer jeans and I was all over it.

It has taken a while for me to "get" the rationality behind a $100+ pair of jeans. Since highschool I've taken the middle road and worn mostly Gap jeans. Express if I am feeling extra sassy. And there is nothing wrong with them - they come in tall sizes (which I need) and they fit nicely enough. Until about noon or so when the butt is sagging (and no its not because of MY saggy butt, but rather material that doesn't give... that's my story and I'm stickin' to it).

It's hard to describe what it feels like to try on a nice pair of jeans. They move with you (not against you). The back pockets are in the right place (yes, even after you put them on). And they feel. so. good. In fact, trying on jeans has never been so fun when you are doing it in a room large enough that your elbows aren't knocking into the walls around you, and your salesperson is running all over the store for you, as determined as you are to find "the one" pair that will take you up a notch.

I guess my opinion on the matter shifted when I attended a photography seminar a couple months ago. We talked a lot about image, marketing and branding. 3 important targets on the business side of photography that I was severely lacking. Branding is the "intangible, personable and powerful message you portray" (Christopher Becker). It communicates who you are, what you do and WHO you do it for. And the benefits of branding yourself are countless... but the one that stood out most in my mind was maintaining a "top of the mind" status. Moreso than prestige, or greater recognition, or being at the head of the trend, I think that "if you can believe it, you can be it" mentality generates the most success.

So here I am dressing for the job I want. I'm communicating my worth.

Too bad I am often simply on my way to Walgreens.

Craft Partay!

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:39:00 +0000

On Saturday night I invited a few friends over to make these darling advent calendars (thanks Courtney!). We had so much fun gabbing and eating and sharing scrapbook paper. And listening to Christmas tunes (hey, so I was ready a little early this year!).

For this project you will need:

24 paper machie boxes, 2x3 in. each
scrapbook paper
mod podge
cricut numbers, or vinyls, or stamps
magnets (strong ones!)
hot glue
ink pad
a magnetic board for display

Trace your lids onto your scrapbook paper and cut out. Trying to keep like patterns and shapes apart is tricky. So I also made sure my numbers were different looking from one box to the next. Some of them were cut from a piece of scrapbook paper that had numbers on it., some were cricuts in different fonts. Mod pdoge your covers onto the lids. Let dry. Ink your edges (with a stamp pad). I went with a copper color to tie in the color of the paper boxes, and add a little sparkle. You could also paint the sides of your boxes red, green or even black, and ink your edges in black or silver. The possibilities are endless! Let the ink dry while you coordinate all your numbers. Apply the numbers with (you guessed it) more mod podge. Let dry. Go over the edges with ink one more time.

This project can be pricey. I got the boxes in sets of 6 from this site: http://www.createforless.com/Craft+Pedlars+Paper+Mache+Box+Bitty+Assorted+Kraft+6pc/pid152491.aspx?SI=33900f50-63d1-4925-84a7-a203414da727. The paper is cheap, unless you want every box to be different. But even then you use so little to cover each box. The magnetic board can be one you already have, so you can get multiple uses out of it. That is what I did - this chalkboard is on my wall year round. You can make your own with wood and galvanized sheet metal from the hardware store. Probably the most economical way to go. Or buy unfinished frames and back with the galvanized sheet metal, or a board sprayed with magnetic spray paint... I even saw some magnetic metal boards at IKEA for only $12.99. They come in white and red. Not as rustic looking, but still cute I think, especially if you want a more mod look.

Note that the boxes are SMALL. That is so they fit on a manageable size board (mine is 22x22, I would think 16x20 would be the smallest you could go with the small sized boxes). If you get the next size up you will need a really large board to stick them on.

Since the boxes need to be small they will only fit items like individual pieces of candy, coins, or stickers. You could also roll up scriptures on tiny pieces of paper if you want to add a religious touch. One of my friends suggested a scavenger hunt. You could roll up little hints and place them in each of the boxes to lead the family to bigger items, or even just one big gift at the end of the month. I checked out the party bin at WalMart (by the pinatas) and found several small trinkets that would work - parachute jump figurines, glow in the dark stars, rings... Any dollar store would also have good stuff I am sure.

... Enjoy!!!

Don't forget about Thanksgiving

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:01:00 +0000

We all know how it goes, Halloween segues into Christmas with hardly a nod for Thanksgiving. That's the inspiration behind this project. And I love how it turned out!

Does it make me a bad mom that I swiped the burlap from a stack of make-up work I received for Sasha (who yes, is in preschool). Lol! She was supposed to decorate it with fall leaves and twigs and stuff. Fun, but obviously my idea was better. ;)

The burlap is just wrapped around a dowel over the top. I hot glued the ribbon on - a know is tied on each end to help it look for finished since the ends are showing.

As for the turkey, I used a Martha Stewart cookie cutter as my template. I traced it with a brown sharpie right onto the material. That is why my frayed edges have a burnt look to them. Love that. And I used a snippet of ribbon for the label, which says "Remember".

My scanner is having issues, but I will add the template for the turkey later, should any of you lovely ladies like to make this super easy project for yourself!

Some fun stuff to check out!

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:39:00 +0000

Check out the Fall Tour of Homes at Blissfully Domestic:

The Nester is also having a Tour of Homes. Check it:

Speaking of The Nester, wanna know what I made yestrday while feeling sick and sorry for myself? One of these. And now I am in love. Thank goodness, I was getting sick of fabric flowers already!

My Raggamuffin Garland. Perfect name for it, don't you think?

How do you like my new look? I got everything you see here for FREE at The Background Fairy and The Graphics Fairy. You have to go peruse all the great stuff she's got for the taking! Not to mention her fun craft ideas. Aren't these burlap napkin rings wonderful?

That's same image on those napkin rings that you see on my darling little Thanksgiving countdown in my sidebar. Also available at Background Fairy.

Last but not least, check out these adorable bracelets and headbands (and some other fab stuff) from One Creative Momma here and here! I feel like I have known Michelle forever... we started blogging about the same time. She has got one creative soul. Truly, truly unique! I love that!

Yes, you're in the right place...

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:57:00 +0000

Pardon me while I give this place a little face lift.

the sewing table

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:23:00 +0000

First of all, thanks to all the newbies visiting my site via brown paper packages. This little blog hasn't seen that much action in a while... since back when I posted nearly every day and commented on about 100 blogs a week! Seasons change. The popularity of my blog posts on the birthday parties I do has had me thinking, though... I just might publish a book of my ideas one day. How fun would that be?

A few weeks ago I revealed that I was turning my dining room into a craft room. I've been slowly chipping away at it. Yesterday I finished the big feature in the room, a sewing table. Now I don't sew. Not yet anyway. So ignor the dinosaur sitting on top of said sewing table. It was my mother's. Let's just focus on the table, shall we? Which was the ingenius collaboration of my very handy friend Tannie and I.

These drawers have been sitting in my garage for years now. They were part of a bureau, which then became a TV stand, the holes where the drawers used to be now housing our electronics (DVD player, cable box, etc.). I just knew there was a use for the drawers though - some how, some way. I thought maybe window boxes would be cute. Then end tables. And finally, this sewing table. But I am NOT handy (this is where Tannie comes in) and so I inquired how it could possibly be done. An hour later - I kid you not - I had this table. It was so easy. I went to Home Depot, I bought some legs and fixtures, came home and screwed it all together. By myself. Just like that. Amazing.

One unique feature is that I turned one drawer upside down to function as a desk surface, while the other is right side up - so that it can hold notions like thread, buttons, etc. This room is tiny so I need all the storage space I can get. Plus this is cute, with the jars and my files of ideas in the one side. I am still planning to design some labels for the tops of the jars.

The side that is upside down needed some reinforcement in order to support the weight of a sewing machine, so I had some wood cut to size and nailed and wood glued it over the base of the drawer. Now it is completely sturdy.

Finished up with some stain yesterday and voila. LOVE IT!

More to come on the craft room...

Cooking Party #2

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:47:00 +0000

My little Drewby just turned 5. And he wanted the exact same party his older brother did when he turned 5... a cooking party. They both are my biggest helpers (for lack of a better word;)) at dinnertime. And I enjoy reusing ideas, heck I've already done most of the research (yes, research), so why not? And why not even make it better the second time around? So that's just what I did.

I made a cute sign for the front door using a potholder set from the $1 aisle at Target (although I think it was actually $2.50 for the set). It said "Welcome to Drew's Cafe". On a side note - I could be advertising for Target's $1 spot. I also bought vinyl tablecoths there... in red/white and turquoise/white checkered patterns. So, so cute and the perfect colors.

I displayed the menu-to-be on a chalkboard in the kitchen.

I filled a collander with cooking tools and used it for the centerpiece.

I scattered balloons all over the floor... I do this for EVERY party. Cheap decoration and an instant pop of color. Plus each kid can take one home with them if they'd like.

I used the same menu, because it was simple and yet it really made the kids feel like they were cooking a full meal. We made pizza (using pre-baked dough) first. Each kid had a chance to spread around the sauce, sprinkle a handful of cheese, and lay down some pepperoni. Then we made "salad on a stick"... which was chunks of cheese, cucmber, grape tomatoes and croutons on a bamboo skewer (idea courtesy of Family Fun). Last but not least, each kid decorated his/her own (pre-baked) cupcake, but not before tinting the icing themselves... they took turns stirring in the food coloring.

I made the same chef hats. the tutorial is online at Family Fun here (could also advertise for them - Family Fun are you listening? I love your mag!). And I provided each child with an apron from Oriental Trading. See here.

I made a little connection this time between Drew's age (5) and the 5 basic food groups. We guessed what Drew's 5 favorite foods were while we worked. And the party favors were styrofoam lunch trays filled with candy that looked like real food, representing the 5 food groups. The little attached scroll on top says:

"Fish, breadsticks, lentils and cheese,
Berries and oranges, pumpkins and peas,
Be sure to get your 5 food groups a day,
Drew's been growing for 5 years this way."

I used swedish fish, sugar babies for the lentils, orange and yellow starburst for the cheese, haribo candy berries, chocolate orange slices, and green M&Ms for the peas. Everything had a label. I really tried to execute this idea when I first hosted this party a couple years ago. But it did not turn out nearly as cute as it did this time. The only thing is it was too bad that his party fell the week before Halloween. I am sure the parents loved that I sent their kids home with a plate full of candy just 7 days before going trick or treating!

I added a game this time. There are a few fabulous activity ideas on this site. I made 2 placemats with an outline of a properly set table setting. Set up a small table big enough for 2 contestants and had them race each other to see who could properly set their setting first. So they each had a stack of plate, cup, napkin, fork and knife. Fun!

The benefits to this party idea are countless. It doesn't require a lot of decor. It doesn't require a lot of prep (you are, after all, cooking the party food as part of the party itself). It keeps the kids engaged the whole time (so they aren't running wild through your house). And it's unique!

spooky banner tutorial

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:28:00 +0000

Last weekend my friends Tannie, Esther and I went to check out a relatively new housing development. Craftsman inspired floor plans. My favorite style. One of the model homes had the word "DREAM" hanging from a bedroom curtain rod. It was in a gothic font and the letters had glitter on them. I loved the concept, although it didn't look right to me in a bedroom. My thoughts were, however, that it would be a perfect idea for a Halloween banner. So the 3 of us got together and created this banner.

Here's what we used:

this font

black posterboard

Elmer's glue

brush

black (or orange, or silver) glitter

ribbon

Blow up the letters to the size you want and print out. Cut them out and use them as stencils on the black posterboard. (We smoothed out some of the edges on the letters because they were a little too ornate). Reinforce the back of your letters with popsicle sticks if your posterboard is too thin (if you do not, the glue will cause the post board to curl). Paint your letters (one at a time) with an even coat of glue. Sprinkle black glitter generously over the letter. Let your letters dry overnight. Using a wide ribbon (if your ribbon is not wide enough your banner will not hang flat), attach your letters using hot glue. Leave about an inch bettween letters... you don't want them to close together or they will overlap when you hang it up. Leave at least a 7 inch tag on each end from which to hang your banner. Add additional pieces of ribbon for whimsy... choose a variety of widths and textures. I used orange silk, black with handstitched edges, white ric rac and black and white striped. Black and white gingham and polka dots would also be cute! You can also hang the letter individually, each one with it's own piece of ribbon. Looks great across a mantle, hanging in a window, along the top of an armoire, or at the top of a niche like mine. I thought the letters might also look cute if covered in velvet. Oooh la laa!!!

Enjoy!

I love fall

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Maybe it's the bounty of colorful vegetables.

Maybe it's all the fun I'm having with Halloween decor.

Stay tuned for tutorials.

fabulous fabric flowers

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:56:00 +0000

Linsey at Voila is to blame for this new obsession.

The perfect corsage for Fall:

I've seen pillows at Anthropologie like this:

To adorn my daughter's head:

The fabulous thing about this project is that it takes very little material, so if you save your scraps like I do it costs nothing at all to whip out several of these at a time! The one on the bottom, left, is actually made from scraps of handkerchiefs!

If you want instructions on how I made these, let me know. There are also instructions at Linsey's blog, although I changed a few things in the way that I did mine. :)

family value wall

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:53:00 +0000

I've seen several versions of this idea, all of which I have loved. It's taken me a while to come up with my own rendition, one that I felt was beautiful and artistic and meaningful to our family. So we discussed what things we wanted the "Rogers Family" to be known or recognized for. As the kids tossed out their ideas we found some scriptures to support them and made a list.

Here's how the wall turned out:

It's in my stairwell where the kids see it each morning as they descend, close to THIS picture display of their ancestors, which I also feel is important for them to see regularly. (I couldn't get a better picture of the wall in context because of the way our stairs wind, it's quite large - about 3x5 ft.)

They comment on it from time to time, to tell me of ways in which they've represented our family well. I'm so happy they see the importance in having values and in standing for something.

Thoughts on General Conference

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:55:00 +0000

I loved Conference, as always. The talk that has stood out in my mind is Elder Eyring's talk on family. He talked about the importance of love - husband for wife, child for sibling, child for parent. He didn't say "The perfect family has no challenges. The perfect family has perfect children in it and perfect parents." He indicates that the perfect family (or one striving for perfection) is one that is built on love. I don't know why that struck such a chord with me, I guess I have been feeling discouraged by my willful children lately, and ashamed of my heated reactions to them. But the Lord knows how I love those children. Aside from my husband they are my life. I would give anything, do anything - for them, for my husband, for my family. It is comforting to know that even with all that love there are going to be challenges, and that's okay. So long as we continue to show our love for one another.

Just the reassurance I need right about now.

The value of friendship

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:15:00 +0000

I'm really enjoying a time in my life when I can cultivate close friendships again... not the kind that's based on the fact that your kids get along well, but the kind that's based on enjoying the same things, on having the same interests and goals. You know, those things that you tend to let slip away when you first become a mom?

Finding friendship again has been such a blessing in my life, and I wonder how I got by for so long without it. It was very important to me as a child, I was kind of shy but I adored my friends. Came out of my shell finally in high school and then began forming my best, most lasting friendships. Staying in touch with friends has always been important to me, I not only loved writing letters but also calling them on the phone. Sunday nights my freshman year were for talking to friends and family. I looked forward to it so much! But I've written and called less and less, especially with those that did not go on to have children. Because motherhood is all consuming and for a good few years it really is all you can think about. So relating to others in your shoes is very important. And being reminded of your "former" life can be very discouraging, at least on the difficult days. But I still appreciate, am eternally grateful for, the value those friendships added to my life at that time, and in that season.

I think online forums, facebook, twitter, blogging and all those new forms of communication are so popular among young moms because it is much easier to sit down and type out a sentence or two at a time about what you are thinking than to actually get through a real conversation. As sad and impersonal as that sounds. Any mom knows how frustrating it is to get on the phone for 15 minutes only to discover that in that time your child has dumped an entire bottle of shampoo out on the bathroom floor. It's just not worth it.

But my children are older now, they are all in some from of schooling and I have time to myself again. They are also more independent, so if I want to go out on a weeknight with my friends my husband doesn't feel like I am dumping on him. There is a sense of freedom that comes with older chidlren, although it doesn't get any easier being a parent. Your focus just shifts from the physical needs to more of the mental and emotional needs of your children. And you can then put more physcial energy into yourself. I'm really loving that.

So to my sisters who are still in that phase of mothering where they feel like friendship has been squeezed out of their life, or that motherhood dictates where and to what extent their friendhips exist, hang in there. I know you know that it's worth the sacrifice. I know you are grateful for your children and that you love them. I know that you appreciate the women in your life who are going through the same things that you are. But I also know that you are wondering when the time will come again that you can run off for the weekend with your peeps. Your soul sisters. The ones that like to do all the same crazy things you do, read all the same crazy books you do, and listen to all the same crazy music you do. The time WILL come, and your conversations will stimulate your intellect and your creativity and have nothing to do with lack of sleep or potty training! And to my soul sisters, they know who they are, you are such jewels. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for listening to me, encouraging, inspiring, stengthening, and reassuring me. Thanks for making me laugh until I cry. Thanks for the fashion advice. ;) And thank you for bringing true friendship back into my life!

Disney World!

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Last week I gave my 3 year old the surprise of her life by taking her to Disney World. She's going through the princess phase, so this was a huge deal for her (and me, I was on the verge of tears watching her take it all in). We had a wonderful time, it was very hot, and we got caught in a downpour our 2nd night there, but we had so much fun. Fortunately I have a cousin with a daughter Sasha's age that lives in Orlando, so we all went together and breezed through the parks and rides due to their familiarity with everything. Otherwise I might not have been able to pack as much in as I did!

Here are some pictures!

Sasha and Angelina looking at their matching shoes... and ready to leave for the park!

First stop, the carousel! Look how happy she is. :)

Listening to Belle tell her story...

... and then getting her autograph!

Posing with the teapots by the Mad Hatter Tea Cup ride.

Alas, she meets the princesses!

We waited a while to meet Ariel, and it was very dark so the pictures were awful. But she sure is cute in her Ariel costume!

She was in awe of Cinderella's castle.

Day 2, not as many pictures, but we HAD to go back on the carousel!

So tired... (and hot, and sweaty...)

I enjoyed spending this one-on-one time with my "baby"!

Off to where dreams really do come true...

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:04:00 +0000

Tomorrow I leave for Orlando with my 3 year old, Sasha. We are going to Disney World, unbeknownst to her. We have family there, and she knows we are going to visit them, but she doesn't know Disney World even exists, let alone that we are going to spend 2 whole days there. This little one is so enamored with princesses and fairy tales and magic. I cannot WAIT to see the look on her face when we walk up to that castle. In fact, I will have my video camera ready so that I can relive that moment again and again. This is going to be very, very fun. I wish they stayed little and dreamy like this forever.

Snickerdoodle Cake

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:31:00 +0000

I just made this cake for the front office at my kids' new school (not before making one for us to eat at home, though). Seriously so good. And not so much snickerdoodley as cinnamony. Love my made up adjectives?

See the recipe here.

Ingredients:
Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans (Do not skip this step. Trust me on this.)
Flour for dusting the pans (See above)
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 cup whole milk
8 T (1 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 t ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

Preheat over to 350, generously grease two 9″ round cake pans with shortening then dust with flour. Shake out the excess and put the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 27 to 29 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert them again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

Meanwhile, prepare the Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting.

Ingredients:
8 T room temperature butter
3 3/4 C confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 to 4 T milk
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 t ground cinnamon

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the powdered sugar, 3 T milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Blend with the mixer on low until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend in up to 1 T milk if the frosting seems too stiff.

Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. place the second layer, right side up on top of the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with clean, smooth strokes.

Place this cake, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Cover the cake with waxed paper and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

ENJOY!!!

Remember my dining room?

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:28:00 +0000

It was one of the first rooms I had planned out when we began building our new house. I was especially sure of the wall color I wanted - an almost Tiffany blue. The general inspiration for the room came from an Interior Design book called Modern Country, which displayed an old farm table with a black and white gingham table cloth and these fabulous, antiqued turqouise-ish chairs.

It all turned out beautifully, with very little money spent. I already had the table, a nice black armoire to compliment the Tiffany blue walls and achieve the same color scheme as in the book, and some accessories (a toile tablcloth, an old wreath to go over the knobs on the armoire). Really, all I bought was a centerpiece for the table, a mirror for the wall, and some curtains.

This is one of the first rooms you see when you walk into the house. It has a large arched entrance and therefore a lot of presence. Easily my favorite room in the house. But after living here for a year we began to realize what an inefficient use of space it was. The only times we were using it was when we had company to impress or for birthday parties. My husband hinted to me that we might consider changing the use of the space. Which made me really sad at first. But I am all about efficinecy so it made sense to me as well.

It then occurred to me how useful a craft room would be for me. I was currently using my kitchen counter for my projects... sitting on a stool, banging my legs into my cabinets, getting bits of glue all over the same area I made my kids' sandwiches every morning. I wanted, if I could, to keep the same color scheme, although one doesn't usually think of classy/traditional colors like this when it comes to a funky/creative space. The current trend errs more on the side of aqua blues and yellows and pinks. Couldn't have a pink room right there in the front of my house, sorry. I already have quite a bit of yellow in the main area of my house. And aqua was so close to what I already had it was pointless to change it. So I worked with the current color after all. And voila! Here is a sneak peek at the almost end product!

I will feature some of the details in the coming weeks. There are still a lot of finishing touches to be done... the sewing table (which I made from 2 old drawers!) needs to be stained, it needs a stool, and I have to finish some mod podge words for my wall ("inspire" and "create"). I also need to organize the inside of the armoire for all my craft supplies. It is an entertainment unit, so that huge space behind the doors is just that, a huge inefficient space. It needs shelves and drawers and stuff. Container Store here I come!!!

So here is what I look like...

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:25:00 +0000

...in sassy yellow pumps. ;)

Font Project

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:18:00 +0000

Remember that font I told you about the other day? Well look what I did with it! I printed out the 3 and the parentheses, cut them out, mounted them on a full sheet of scrapbooking paper, and then mounted that on mat board in an 11x14 frame. I'd love to dust off my etsy shop and sell these; how cute for a birthday gift! And you can just change out the age as your child gets older!

(Initials would be cute, too.)

And whilst we are in Sasha's room, look what I came up with for the tissue paper flowers we made for her birthday party.

Um, hello cute!

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:07:00 +0000

I've been playing around with the free "try me" version of this font all day. Well, not ALL day. What mom has all day? Anyway, I just stumbled upon it by accident looking for some musical clip art. The site has been down (except for the "try me" feature) but now it is up and, hello! Several of the sets are on sale for only a buck.

Of course I've already saved each letter of the alphabet as well as numbers for free, but a buck is nothing (warning: you may want to buy more than one font though, which adds up and be sure and check out the printable stuff too - cupcake invitations for only a buck!).

Oh the possibilities for this darling font! I'm thinking buttons, banners, stationary... all things girly!

http://www.letteringdelights.com/alphabet:vintage_rose-8618.html

Enjoy!!!

The girl with the yellow shoes

mama.musician.crafter@gmail.com (Lei) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:53:00 +0000

I buy most of my clothing from the same stores again and again, but when it comes to shoes I will take them any way I can get them. Some might call me a shoe whore. I won't deny it.

Recently I bought a pair of bright yellow pumps. It was a bold move even for me! But I love the color yellow. Yellow however does not love me. It just doesn't go well with my coloring. So when it comes to wearing yellow, shoes or handbags or jewelry it is. And the fun stops there.

I looked and looked for the perfect yellow shoes for quite some time. Months, probably. In fact, I was afraid that the color was going to go out of style before I actually found a pair I liked. So a sense of urgency was beginning to set in, the kind that only happens to a shoe whore, which led to my buying a pair off Amazon.com.

Did you know that Amazon sold shoes?

When the shoes arrived I tried them on. The heels were a lot higher than I thought they would be. And I am 6 ft. tall. Hasn't stopped me from wearing heels before, but I usually draw the line at stillettos. So here are these BRIGHT, super HIGH heel yellow pumps that I have wanted for so long and I am not even sure I can bring myself to wear them in public.

I've always admired fashion forward women. They aren't afraid to try new things with their hair, or wear bold accessories. You know the type. And as bold and outside of the box as I am I think I am a pretty conservative dresser. Maybe I am wrong (I'm curious what those of you who actually know me think!), but I was going to have to find a way to show off those shoes!

They sat in the box for 2 weeks. Sasha pulled them out several times, admiring them, urging me to wear them. To the post office. "To the store, Mommy!" Wouldn't that be a sight. I really don't know what exactly I was waiting for, though. A vision?

I didn't have any intention of returning them. So I took the next most obvious step and brought them with me into none other than Charming Charlie's. If you've never been to CC or even heard of it, it's a fabulous place to find inspiration for all your fashion needs. Whenever I walk in the door I am immediately transported into what I call "Rebecca Bloomwood's world" ("Confessions of a Shopaholic" anyone?), and I am mesmerized (and consequently, close to being banned by my husband from ever going in there again).

CC is color coded, so there is a whole section of fabulous yellow there. Rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, headbands, watches, shoes, scarves, bows. It all made my simple yellow pumps look pretty tame. Huh, I thought. these shoes are nothin'! And I picked out a yellow headband and bracelet and made my merry way to the cashier.

"Let's see those shoes," the woman at the checkout counter said to me as I paid for my loot. "Wow, those are bright."

And that was all she said.

The other check out girl glanced at me, presumably to measure my reaction. Surprisingly, it didn't affect me at all. I was finally ready to wear those shoes! And I walked out with my head held high.

I awoke the next Sunday morning feeling mighty sassy. I put on my black dress with the little white polka dots. Along with the yellow bracelet, yellow headband, and of course, those bright yellow pumps. The piece de resistance. And left the house that morning with a little extra pep in my step.