Set Your Intentions Dream With Care

     My second first day as an intern at Click magazine was a success!  But now I'm exhausted and a little headachy.  Tomorrow is going to be even longer.  One thing though, if you haven't seen Despicable Me, you should.  It's super cute and funny.  I love all of the cartoon movies that are made nowadays because they are for all generations (The Lorax is another one of those).
     We finished painting one of the windows that we had planned on painting.  The whole process was a little more difficult than we had first imagined but I think the end result turned out pretty well.

Title: "Follow the Sun" by Xavier Rudd

Like the Warmth of the Sun

     One of these days I'm not going to talk about how tired I am or how much my head has been hurting.  But that would not be today (so just pretend I made the obligatory remarks about my head and my exhaustion).  I didn't do too much today, except for playing around with some ink and paper and walking the dogs.
     I found this script workshop via Elise Blaha Cripe's blog that I follow (not so religiously).  When I first discovered it I wanted to know more so I tracked down the post she wrote when she was actually taking the class.  Here are some examples of her quotes, her own experiments before she took the class,  and an almost practical way she has used what she learned in this project.  While I'm still on the fence of whether or not to take this workshop, I decided I would try out a little bit of wordplay (and inkplay) before I made my final decision.  (Honestly, I'm still leaning towards taking the workshop, but in the end my mind isn't fully made up until I sign up for the class.)  Here's a sample of what I made.  I thought they were the correct lyrics from the song that is the title of the post (The Zombie's "This Will Be Our Year"), but as the name suggests instead of being "shall" it should be "will."  Oh well, I like the implications "shall" has.  (My mother was not impressed.)

 I had some very happy puppies after this afternoon's walk.

Title: "This Will Be Our Year" by Matt Costa 

(originally by The Zombies)

(skip to 0:54 to get right to the song)

The Colors, They Merge They Scream and Shout

     Not sure why I'm so tired.  It may have something to do with this headache I've been dealing all day, but who really knows?  Other than that, Mom and I have been experimenting with some glass paint.  We're still waiting for it to dry to see the end results but I took a quick picture once we were done.

Title: "Bikes" by Lucy Rose

My Body Moves in Time

     Even though today hasn't exactly been busy, it's been full.  I've loved every minute of it.  And I've loved the fact that I haven't had a migraine this week (even though it's been busy).  But I'm still not so motivated to write out a huge long blog.  Instead I think I'll just recap the day quickly.
     Mom and I went furniture window shopping for the game room while Dad and Will completed their second day of a three-day motorcycle course.  When we got home we put some salmon on the grill and made some homemade ice cream with my dad's help.  The puppy dogs helped out, too.  Oscar licked the grill grate clean while Jack was busy cleaning out all the used charcoal chunks from underneath the grill.  All of it was delicious.  (Oh, and I included a picture of my finished product from my Mod Podge project.)

Title: "Feeding Line" by Julia Stone (originally by Boy and Bear)

(Skip to 1:20 to get to the song)

"Do You Ever Get the Feeling That You're Missing the Mark?"

     I have already used some of the stuff I bought yesterday.  I ended up writing a note to a friend and I wanted to spruce up the plain notecards I have.

I'm not saying that it looks perfect, but I still love the fact that it's something different.  I'm not as crazy about the washi tape that I found at Target.  I was really hoping for a bigger selection, but I found the date stamp at Target and absolutely adore it!  It also has a feature to say really cute quotes in front of it and I'll probably end up using those phrases all by themselves when I start my mini books, but for now, I'm really excited about what I have.  And I just used paint (the cheap paint from Wal-Mart) as my ink.
     I went to the Mudbug Bash benefiting the Palmer Home for Kids.  It was pretty awesome.  I ended up loving eating crawfish (I didn't even mind that I had to peel them myself).  I just got home and I'm way exhausted and have a full day ahead of me tomorrow so I'm just going to leave you with a photo from tonight.

Title: "Hurts Like Heaven" by Coldplay

New Additions

If you read my list of five things that made Spring Break bearable you might remember an adorable picture of a puppy. I have finally convinced my parents (whom I am living with) that we need a playmate for our current puppy Jack.

Jack is a 3 year old Golden Retriever, who is a loving dog.  However he sometimes has problems with being hyper and bouncy (he's the dog in all of the pictures I've posted on here and he is pretty much the star of my Instagram feed).  Jack will walk around the yard with his toy bone in his mouth whining because he doesn't have anyone to play with.  It's really sad.  So we're getting him a puppy!

After much consideration and research we've decided to get a Goldendoodle.  We want a dog that will stay outside (something that usually hinders us from adopting a puppy from animal shelters) and my dad would prefer to get a dog that is just a puppy.  (Jack was found in vet's parking lot when he was 6 months old and there are clear signs of abuse that will probably last his whole life.)  

I've been searching and searching for the right puppy for us.  I know that whatever puppy finally makes his way to us will be puppy we're supposed to have.  (The situation with Jack and the Golden Retriever we owned before him proved that-- they were both dogs that needed a good home and literally through one way or another found his way to us.)  We think we might have the right puppy in our sights, but time will tell.  

One thing I want to make sure of is that I document this new puppy's growth and development.  I want to be able to look back and see how much he grew, etc. I recently came across pictures of Dante as a teeny tiny kitten that made me wish I had more pictures.  (Dante was so small he could fit into the palm of your hand and now he can barely fit into your lap.)  

As I've said before I fail at scrapbooking, but straight from the blog that inspired me to start blogging again comes a new way to Scrapbook.  Mini Books.  It's just made from paper held together with book rings and completely left up to your imagination.  The best blog post explaining it that I could find is found here.  But there are so many different ways to create a mini book.  And Elise Cripe has post after post of what she has created.  Each one can be as unique and different as you want it to be.  I think I'm going to start one when we get our new puppy (maybe just not put it together for a little while as I don't really have any workspace).

Elise Cripe with just a few of her mini books. 

(Photo credit: Elise's Blog)

 Just another picture of a mini book.  

If you want to see more check out Elise's detailed posts about how she puts them together.

(Photo Credit: Elise's Blog)

Resolution #2:

To create a mini book centered on the new Goldendoodle puppy and his new life in our family.

Wine Bottle Light

In my photo of the day from Wednesday I showed a picture from where Amber and I almost drilled a hole in a wine bottle.  We were inspired by a post found on the blog whit & whistle.  They turned an empty wine bottle into a night light.  I am somewhat afraid of dark which has been worsen by the mass amount of spiders I have recently found in my home (all three of them).  This project leaves you with not only a light but something that can only be considered a work of art.  Who ever thought this one up is genius.  However, Amber and I decided that we were not experienced enough (after several attempts to start drilling) to create the hole needed.  Both of us were cringing at the thought of the whole bottle busting and glass shards flying everywhere. We are going to ask our fathers for their help, I do believe.  In the meantime, here are the beautiful pictures from the Whit & Whistle blog.  Do go over and check out how to make this wonderful light.

Old Lady Habits

One of my favorite past times is to knit.  I find it very relaxing and soothing, so much so I usually just turn on a movie on my computer and knit and knit.  I have attempted following patterns but sometimes it takes the relaxation out of knitting and instead injects stress because you have to get pretty much every correct or the whole pattern is thrown off.  So for the most part, I have just stuck to the regular knit stitch and purl stitch.
    Recently I came across the most gorgeous crocheted vests.

Are these not just beautiful?  They have made me decide that I want to learn how to crochet too.  Plus I figured that once I learn how to crochet maybe there is a possibility that I could learn how to crochet lace.  Now that would be really pretty but for now I'm sticking with just learning the basics and getting familiar with everything.  You will never guess who is teaching me.  Youtube.  The lady's channel name is Bethintx1 (Beth in Texas, in case you were like me and trying to mash it all together).  She's pretty good.  I thought I'd share one of the first videos that really shows you how to crochet so that if you wanted to check out what crocheting is and see if you might possibly want to try it.



I even have some wonderful news for everyone who lives in Oxford.  We have our own yarn store.  While you can go to Walmart or any craft store nearest you to find the materials you need, speciality yarn stores are the mecca stores that will have everything you need to start knitting, crocheting, and anything else that has to do with yarn.  The quality of yarn and needles purchased in a speciality store verses at Walmart or general craft store is extremely noticeable. Also they have a wonderfully helpful staff that is knowledgable about pretty much all things yarn.  Plus their selection is endless.  In Oxford, the yarn store is called  Knit1 Oxford and is right off the square.  The address for Knit1 Oxford is 103 North 13th Street, Oxford, MS.  They even have their own website which you can check out by clicking here.  Before I found this store, I had to drive all the way back home to Southaven to Hank of Yarn.  Hank of Yarn is located by the Southaven Malco movie theater.  Their address is 7075 Malco Blvd, #110, Southhaven, MS and they have their own website as well.  
    On both websites you can even find free patterns for knitting and probably crocheting.  All you have to do is go to their products page and then start clicking on the links to their products.  Those websites usually have free patterns ranging in difficulty from beginner to expert.  I have my eye on a few patterns, especially this really lovely cardigan I just know I will be able to make one day and a man's sweater vest that is supposed to be beginner level.
    I have been made fun of many times for having this "old lady habit" but in all honesty it feels good to make things with your hands.  I cannot believe we have gotten so far away from it.  I even want to learn to cross stitch so I can make my children quilts to pass down to their children and so on.  In fact, the quilt that is on my bed right now is hand made and passed down from my great-aunt.  It makes it that much more special.  Where has all the traditions gone and why do we think it's so much better to just buy things that are already made than to take a little more time and make them ourself?

Knit1 Oxford... the view from my car.

DIY Friendship Bracelets

Today I ran across a fun DIY that only took me a few hours to do, not that it was particularly hard-- it was just a little time consuming.  Honestly WTF's blog detailed a fun friendship bracelet that I just had to try.  I am pretty much obsessed with layering bracelets and completely love friendship bracelets in general.  I am always looking for a new, but easy, way to show how much I enjoy someone's company.  While you can always go to Honestly WTF's blog for the instructions. I wanted to put my own personal spin on the pictures.

My choice of colors.

Knot them all together and then put them in an order.  The instructions on her blog said to either tape the threads a hard surface or safety pin them to a pillow.  I just had a bobby pin on hand so I attached it to the back of my pillow.

Take the thread on the right outside and make a 4 with the next thread and pull it tight.  (The other blog has an illustration if you need help visualizing.) Do this 2 times on each thread.  On the left side, you make a backwards 4 but make sure that the outside thread is on the top.  I had a little trouble in the beginning because I put the outside thread on the bottom.

Continue the doubled "4" knots until you are satisfied with the length.

The other blog said to get 24 inches  of each thread.  I, however, found that the threads were not going to be long enough to continue with the pointed pattern so I just braided mine the rest of the way down.  I did a fishtail braid so that the different colors would be all mixed together.  

I am tackling creating a ring out of the pattern currently and I think I might have it figured out.  At least I hope I do.  I will keep you updated with the results.  I do hope you have enjoyed this tutorial as brief as it maybe.