To the Male Species...

...a general note to teenagers and men: there are other people in the world, you can vacuum just as well as I can, dirty socks in the middle of the floor are not "home decor", there is no magic cleaning/cooking fairy, and you'd be smart to just accept "I have a headache" to mean "ask me to do one more thing or touch me and you're taking your life into your own hands". Then again, when said at the right moment - and in just the right tone - it can also mean "you screwed up big time - and I'm not going to tell you what you did. You figure it out - quickly - and then go out of your way to apologize/fix it - for as long as it takes for my "headache" to go away."

Just doing my part to educate the male population of the world...after spending the last few days with my boys, this apparently needs to be said.

That is all.

One Lovely Blog Award

I'll admit it...I'm a horrible blogger. A terrible blogging friend. An inexcusable award poster. (Award poster? Somehow that's one thing I never saw myself as...a poster. I've known for a long time that the childebeasts were poster children for good birth control, but me? I wonder what I would say as a poster.)

Sorry.

There is this most incredible blog I read - Candles, Crafts, and Whatnot. The author is Kat, a woman with a heart of gold and a treasure trove of talent. She's incredible in so many ways - and maybe that's why I put off accepting such an award. I don't feel like I deserve it - especially from someone like Kat. She gives me something to aspire to, someone to emulate, and her talent provides me with a creative jolt. I absolutely think the world of her...even though she probably hates me for taking six eons to post the kindness she bestowed upon me!

Not only does Kat run Candles, Crafts, and Whatnot, she also keeps another blog - Soy Wax Candles. Both blogs are equally interesting - and both have a wide variety of information. Candles, Crafts, and Whatnot is a great place to go if you're looking for a laugh - Kat's sense of humor really shines on her blogs. Whether you're looking for interesting information or a good laugh, this lady has you covered. Definitely a daily must read!

Thankfully, Kat has included a link to her ArtFire shop on both blogs - and it's a great place to see her latest pieces. For example, check out this incredible necklace. Don't you just love it??

 Seafoam Necklace - Kats Candles

If you want to see more of Kat's gorgeous pieces, be sure to visit her ArtFire store, Kats Candles. You can view her delectable creations - and this is the place to pick up some of her gorgeous handmade items for yourself. Kat has done a fabulous job of making her offerings very affordable - without sacrificing quality or beauty.

Now that you know a little about Kat and her wonderful spirit, her creativity, and her tremendous talent, you can see why girlfriend has accumulated a whopping 30 awards. WOW! I will get on with the rules of the "One Lovely Blog Award".

Kat explains the rules like this:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Not an easy accomplishment! I've already gotten the first part done, so it's on to naming 15 other blogs I've newly discovered. That's the hard part...but here we go - in no particular order...

 

 

Thank you so much, Kat. I accept the Award with gratitude - and please know that my inability to get this posted has nothing to do with the way your kindness touched my heart. I'm just a terminal dork. I can't help it.

** Please note: If you aren't on this list, it doesn't mean I don't love and adore your awesome blog. The rules of the award state you must include recently discovered blogs - and you can only have 15. I could have named many more phenomenal blogs because each of you is special, amazing, admirable, and wonderful. I chose these blogs based on the ones I've found most recently, then kind of whichever I came across first when I got to the group of great blogs I found about the same time. **

Holiday Gifts...Part II

After yesterday's wildly off-topic post, I'll hopefully stick to the topic today. Maybe.

I would like to give those of you making crafty holiday gifts, a little someum' someum' to think about. I know for a fact that anyone can make a spectacular gift - all anyone needs is a little time and the right tools. Maybe some instructions - or at least a creative idea - and some patience. Those few things, plus the points I'll discuss below, will help to make your gift fantastic - rather than fugly. Read on for my thoughts - and a few ideas - about making gifts for the holidays.

I've done so many different things for holiday gifts - and they've changed a lot over the years. Since having childebeasts (which would make it sound like I remember what life was like before they came along...NOT! lol), I've tried to do things they can help with - but are still wanted by the recipient. There is nothing worse than getting something the parent considers cute - but you have no idea a) what it is, b) what it's used for, and c) what to do with it. I'm all for giving gifts made by the kids - but certain things are items only grandparents adore. Let's not force those things on the unsuspecting (or unwilling)!

Also, another quick note - know your skill level. There are so many different projects online (all it takes is a quick Google search), it's easy to find one that fits with your talents, skill level, budget, and style. If you run across something you really want to make - and it takes you 5 hours to make one, that may not be the best thing to make for all 100 of your office mates. Trust me. I've done this to myself before - and rather than enjoying the process, I wind up cursing the recipients existence. That isn't really what the holiday spirit is about...

Edibles are always great - especially for people you work with. If you have (or can find!) a dynamite recipe for fudge or other holiday confection, you'll endear yourself to those you give it to...forever. This is one of the easiest things I've done - and has saved my backside more than once. Great for last minute gifts - or to keep on hand to give to those people who give you something...and you don't have anything to give back.

Ornaments are also appreciated. These are great things for associates or acquaintances - maybe those who are closer to you than the majority of people at the office, but not a real close friend. These can also be good for teachers because they are so easy to customize. Last year, we did a lot of ornaments. (I thought I made a tutorial for this - but I can't find it, so evidently I didn't.) Since we live in Denver, we made "melted snowman" ornaments. Clear glass ornaments, clear (and a few white) seed beads, black (eyes & buttons), orange (nose), and red & white (hats & scarves) polymer clay, and acetate (overhead projector sheets) cut to fit inside the ornaments. I made a pattern for the acetate so it would fill the diameter of the ornament - and before cutting them out of the full sheet, I stamped white (and embossed iridescent) snowflakes all over. Then I wrote, "Happy Holidays from the _______ 2008" on the acetate, taking up most of the room. Around the bottom I wrote, "Genuine snowman from Denver, CO". I cut these out, rolled them up to fit through the neck of the ornament, and used a pencil to center the writing. Dump in the seed beads and little accessories you've made out of polymer clay, tie a ribbon around the top, and you're done! You can make a lot of these quickly - and inexpensively.

The other things I've/we've made...homemade potpourri, sun catchers with dried flowers/leaves/seeds (this one takes some forethought if you want to save by drying your own flowers/leaves/seeds), wreathes, lip balm kits (for my daughter's friends), personalized stationery, mini/art quilts, and memory boxes. If you are looking for something to give a pet lover, homemade treats for their pet are appreciated, as is an easy-to-make personalized food or water dish.

Whatever you decide to make, whether it's from scratch or you're just altering something you've bought, personalizing it to the recipient is easy - and appreciated. It shows you've taken the time and made the effort to make it special. Which would you rather receive - something someone made 100 of...or something personalized? Personalization doesn't take that much longer - but can really make your gift special.

I know I said I would only talk about this for one day...but it's now lapsed into two. And I'll open it up for questions...if you are going to be crafty this holiday season, and you have questions, let me have 'em. From questions about how to make something, to wanting me to write a tutorial about a project...or needing ideas for a certain skill level - or particular recipients...or wanting to know where to get a supply (at a great price)...or anything else, leave a comment with your question. If there are enough questions, I'll make a Q&A post.

Just don't ask me about the meaning of life.

Holiday Gifts

Before I get in to today's post, I want to thank you for the well wishes. I'm not dead after all...in fact, I feel a lot better today. Unfortunately for the childebeasts, their plan was foiled. Muwahahaha

Today, let's talk about holiday gifts. As someone who absolutely despises the holidays, I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. In fact, I'm not even going to say anything more about it...probably until December. By then, even those of us who don't get all "warm and fuzzy" about the holidays can't resist the pressure of it all, and are forced to submit. Leave me alone about it the other 11 months - and I'll do my best to pretend I like it the last month of the year. (Maybe I'll write some schleppy post about why I dislike Christmas so much...but maybe not. It's not interesting, no one thing made me start hating it, and it just brings up more holiday talk.)

While pondering the possible end of my life yesterday, I was continually interrupted by commercials of happy families getting their holiday groove on. Especially by KMart and their lay-a-way plan. (I think those commercials started like a 4-6 weeks ago.) Irritating as it was, I know it's going to get a whole lot worse - much like the political commercials do right before a presidential election. Then I found out that Santa will be arriving at area malls this Friday. November 6. A full FORTY-NINE days before Christmas. It's a record - and the malls say they're doing it to help "parents get in the mood, and realize Christmas is just around the corner". As if parents - who have children of any age - can forget? Really?? I find it hard to believe the 'beasts are the only children who, all year long, say they want _______ for Christmas. Even the day after Christmas, while half the crap is still in its packaging, the 'beasts are watching TV and commenting they want _____ for next Christmas. Thanks, KMart - I don't need a reminder that I can put everything on lay-a-way. And a huge THANK YOU to the Denver Post - for letting me know Santa will be at the mall from tomorrow til Christmas. You just cemented the fact I will not be going to the mall - for any reason - til after the first of the year.* The last thing I want or need is to get the childebeasts all riled up about Christmas...while they are still hyped up on their Halloween candy.

Hello...can you say tangents? Maybe we'll get to what my point is. So the post is a little convoluted and confusing. So am I.

Crafting and holiday gifts. This will be old news to some of you - but still important things to remember, nonetheless. There are some very specific rules to making things for others as holidays gifts, lest you land on Homemade Hilarity. Fantastic site - if you, or something you've made, aren't on it. In an effort to help all of you - craftista or not - here is some important information to keep in mind if you are going to make gifts this year, rather than buying everything. Let's face it - rollin' with these economic times means everyone needs to save a few Benjamen's (or in my case, Washington's), so many people who haven't necessarily considered giving a handmade gift before, are seriously considering it this year. Which is awesome - I'm all about forwarding the handmade movement - as long as it's well thought out and not just thrown together.

There are several points I want to make about crafting a gift for the holidays - especially those who are new to making gifts. I truly believe anyone can make something really nice - whether they have experience or not - and I'd like to give you some pointers so you can be as successful as possible. I'm not going to focus on what you can make - doing a search on Google will net you more results than you could use in 100 holidays - but I do want to give you some things to think about before plunging in, headfirst.

Unless you'd rather do things the Queen Katherine way...don't think about it, just start making something. Don't worry about how many you need to make - just start on one. After finishing that first one, realize it took you six hours to make it, you've use all your supplies for that particular project, it's ten o'clock at night so the stores are closed, the gift exchange event is in two days, and you need to make 109 more. Sadly, that's how I do things...so I'm trying to save you and spare you a lot of frustration. Tune in tomorrow for the stuff I was going to post today, until I got off on other subjects.

* In all fairness, it should be noted that I haven't been to the mall since...it's been so long that I can't even remember the last time I went to the mall. So it isn't like they'll be missing out on my I-don't-have-two-nickels-to-rub-together-food-stamp-getting-I-hate-Christmas self.

xx,

Ugly Dog Flu, Swine Flu & Turning into a Wombat

I. AM. SO. SICK.

Is it UGLY DOG FLU??

 

Could it be SWINE FLU??

Or...Am I just turning into a WOMBAT??

Any of these is entirely plausible.

Whatever it is, I'm dying. Wait. I can only hope I'm dying.

Since I rarely go anywhere, I didn't just pick this up somewhere. No. I think it was a conspiracy. I think this is the way my children have planned to finally get rid of me.

Everything hurts. It's hard to type this post. But I wanted to let someone know, just in case this is it.

If I make it the next few hours, I'll be laying in bed, watching my favorite new shows. Have you checked out ABC's Wednesday night line-up? Hank (with Kelsey Grammar), In the Middle (Patricia Heaton), Modern Family (Ed O'Neill), and Cougar Town (Courtney Cox Arquette). Sadly, watching these shows is the high point of my week, sick or not. If you haven't seen any of them, you are under orders by the Queen to watch. Especially In the Middle. LOVE IT. Whether it's due to fantastic acting - or the strange way the three kids remind me of my three kids - this is a DO NOT MISS show. And I don't think I've said that since Ally McBeal.

Since I'm dying, you have to find the links yourself. Or not. I don't have enough energy to care. I just think you'll really enjoy these shows.

And that, my dear friends, is my final gift to you, in case whatever-this-is really does kill me. Just know you were loved enough for me to share my television-watching secrets with you.

Now get out of here before you get whatever-this-is. I'm also not doing any dropping today...I'm sorry. I just can't. And I don't want to infect anyone. But I really do love you.

xx (from afar),