Popping back in....

I'm back.  This is what I've done.  :)

Happy Birthday, Sally Woo!

Last week one of my best friends Sarah (a.k.a. Sally Woo, Peanit, Poo & McP) turned 35.  I would've loved to have given her something in a little blue box from my favorite store, but instead I did the next best thing...I made her a cake. 

I am by no means a baker and, while I'll gladly use a boxed cake mix, I refuse to eat store-bought frosting.  So I found the perfect cream cheese icing recipe for her spice cake.  6 drops of blue food coloring & 2 drops of green & Voila...Tiffany blue!!! Then I decided to make a teeny-weeny Happy Birthday banner in lieu of traditional candles (another etsy-inspired idea).  In the end, I added sparklers found in the cake aisle (and for an extra bonus she had to blow them out like 50 times...tee hee.)

If I had really thought ahead, I'd have been smart enough to use one of these lovely cake stands my adorbable cousin put together, but the super excited & jittery birthday girl (who wiggled & squirmed in the other room the whole time I was putting the presentation together) would never have stood for another trip to the car to bring in the stand.  It was all I could do to take pictures without the cake vein popping out of her forehead.

Despite my pathetic attempt at frosting a beautiful cake for my girl, I think it turned out so cute.  And she was giddy & giggly once I finally let her in the kitchen, so it was totally worth it.  (p.s....this 3-layered gem was FANTASTIC with late night coffee.)

Side note:  I hoard paper...in a borderline unhealthy way, so wrapping her gifts in my Paper Source treasures was something I had to think on for a couple days.  But sweet as she is, and without me even asking, (because how tacky is that?) she let me bring her discarded gift-wrap home again!! (Was it the way I was peeling the tape off with surgeon-like precision?  Or perhaps that I was obsessively smoothing out the creases & wrinkles?  Maybe it was the fact that I wouldn't even let the paper touch the floor?)  It's a friend this good to me who deserves her own cake with banners & sparklers.  Happy Birthday, Poo.  Love you. 

p.s. for the love of God, put away the snowmen, Woo.
shark

Things worth doing: Part I

Yesterday I got a last minute invitation to meet an out of town friend 100 miles away for dinner after work.  It took a lot of schedule rearranging, but I made it work.  At first I felt a little guilty about being irresponsible & blowing everything off to go, but my good friend Rich reminded me that I work hard & I deserve to do something a little crazy sometimes.  Despite the fact that I didn't get home until 3 a.m. and had to be up at 7, I'm so glad I did it.   

We had dinner & talked & laughed.  I learned a lot about him that I never knew.  We met a few years ago as friends of friends & whenever I see him now it's always with those friends so I never really knew much about him individually.  I'm sooooo tired today but I had to go.  It was just one of those things worth doing.

Bathtime Apothecary

As a girl I have a tendency to romanticize things that a man never would.  Case in point...while shopping on Etsy I found the greatest shaving kit for men; complete with shaving soap, shaving brush & after shave.  To me there's just something classic about a man lathering up his shaving brush with soap out of a cup.  It seems so romantic...so Gregory Peck.  I wanted to buy it as a gift but I wasn't sure so I asked a guy friend of mine (shout out to Matty D) what he thought of the idea.  He told me when it comes to shaving guys just like to get in & get out.  He said he won't even buy shaving gel because he doesn't want to wait for it to become foam.  So much for romance.

Girls, however, are just the opposite.  Sure we have our daily rituals down to an exact science, but we also relish the time it takes to spoil ourselves.  We like to indulge in a nice hot bath from time to time.  We'll dig in the back of the bathroom closet for the bubbles, oils, tonics, sugar scrubs, salt scrubs, face masks & bath bombs.  Then we line them up in a deliberate order according to stages of use.  It's just a little somethin' special for the ladies. 

Tonight I came home in a bit of a mood.  So I played my bath card & gathered all the accouterments & hauled them to the downstairs bath.  In my head I was going to relax with the lights down, candles lit & a new magazine...but mostly I just thought about my blog & texted Sarah.  But that's ok because that's what it took for me to wind down. (thanks Sally Woo) 

So girls, pour some wine, break open your vetyver & bergamot scented oils & fill the tub.  It's ladies night.

p.s.  Let the record show, I'm still so in love with this shaving kit from orangefuzz I'm totally buying it anyway. 

Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

My brother called last night.  This is the first 5 seconds of our conversation.

Me - "Hello"
Rob - "Hey, what are you doing?"
Me - "Making a cherry out of paper-clay."
Rob - silence
Me - (hearing it outloud for the first time) "Uh..."
Rob - "Wow."

But the joke is on him because I think they look pretty great.

Here's how I did it. 
Supplies:
paper clay
clear glue
tacky glue
red paint (I used Santa Red by Americana/DecoArt)
Candy Apple glitter by Martha Stewart
paintbrush
toothpicks
embossing stylus (or anything to dent the clay)
block of foam
small curved wood sticks/branches for stems

First I pinched some small bits of paper clay off the block.  I eyeballed it - about the size of a cherry. 

Next I rolled the globs into little balls.



Then I used the embossing stylus (or toothpick) to make a dent in the top of the ball.

Then I shaped them into cherries.  This takes a little work to smooth the dent so it looks more natural than just having pressed something into the clay.

Then I let them dry for awhile.  Paper clay is nice in that it doesn't need baked in the oven (though it can be if you're in a hurry).  I'm lazy enought not to run downstairs to the oven yet impatient enough to paint it before it's completely dry. 

I paint the top of the cherry, then poke a toothpick in the top where I'll ultimately put the stem and flip it over & paint the sides & bottom.  The toothpick trick pulls double duty.  It pierces the clay while still soft for the stem and it serves as a holder for the cherry while the paint is wet.  Once painted, stick the toothpick in the block of foam. (I used a pot I had already filled with foam for another project.)

At this point I let everything dry & cure overnight.  The next day it was time for my favorite part...the glitter!!  With the paintbrush, I covered the cherry completely with clear glue then I dipped & rolled it in the Candy Apple glitter.  (While this pic shows the glitter spilled out on paper, I ultimately poured it into a shallow round container so I had more control.)

Then I stick them in the foam again to dry. 

Once dry, twist the toothpick out.  Dip the tip of a wooden stem in tacky glue & insert in the toothpick hole.  Voila!

Now...figuring out how these will be useful...that's your job. Bon Appetit!



Settle in. This is a long one.

Some scoff at the idea that you can have more than one best friend.  And...I get it...by definition best beats all else. But, can't we all agree that different people fulfill different parts of you?  How do you decide which part of you is more worthy of fulfillment?  Most of the girls in my life I've known since I was at least 10.   For us, that means this year marks a quarter of a century that each of our lives have been intertwined.  That means something to me, so this summer I'm throwing our 25 year anniversary celebration!

Tomorrow I embark on a journey I'll make several times this year.  One of my bfs lives 218 miles away from my door to hers.  It's been 2 months since we were together and that's too long for me.  I do love that now when we see each other it's an event, but it makes me realize that when we lived in the same town I took for granted the last minute dinners out or drinks after work or the saturdays spent running errands together.  I can't count the times since she moved that I've wished I could grab a bottle of grapes & stop by after work.  Or shuffle over on a Sunday morning, still in my jammies, for coffee.  Or plan simultaneous Wednesday 'sick-days' so we could eat tomato soup & grilled cheese & watch tv together all day. 

She & I have been everything to each other.  Friends, enemies, 5th grade rivals for the same boy, badminton champs (4 years in a row), roommates, drinking buddies.  We've been each others conscience, backbone, shoulder, rock, mother, sister.  I held her hand at her parent's funeral.  She stroked my hair at my Dad's.  I stood by her side at the altar.  She gave it to me straight when I wanted to stay in a dead-end relationship.  You can't bullshit your best friend...don't even bother trying.  When she answers the phone I can tell by her "hello" if something is wrong.  The morning I called to tell her my Dad had died she told me she knew by the ring that something had happened.  We're connected.  It's that simple. 

When we're together there's always a ton of hugs & snuggles (we call them hugs & snugs).  We're annoyingly dorky that way.  But we can't help it.  We make the absolute most of every second we're together because it'll be months before it happens again.  We've stayed up talking thru the night and didn't realize it until her husband (who is amazing) came in dressed in his suit for work that morning.  (As annoyed as he was at us he still ran out for o.j. before work so we could have beermosas for breakfast.  Did I mention he was amazing?)  

Has someone ever done something so hilarious you felt like you couldn't laugh hard enough?  That was the case the year she threw a Christmas party for us girls & used Pledge on the wood floors so they would shine.  We couldn't make a move without clutching the walls, counters or table for dear life.  (The best part...when she forgot and came running down the hall & bit it right in front of us.  We laughed so hard we were literally rolling on the floor.)

I can't wait to see what the next 3 days hold for us.  But I'm going to grab a bottle of grapes and drive 4 hours in the snow to find out.  Love you, Linds.  See you soon :)

Backpedaling

A few years ago someone special to me dropped my name to someone special to her who was in need of placecards for a wedding.  I was thrilled at the name-drop but super nervous because I had never sold any of my work before.  Until then I just liked playing with paper.  I met with my first "client" over coffee to discuss designs, timelines, etc.   Jump ahead a few months and we're meeting for the final time so I could present her with the finished product.  Dare I say she was so pleased that she suggested I sell my work at the Studio on 6th, an artist co-op in downtown Springfield.  Who?  Me?  Turn a profit playing with paper & glitter?? 

Soon after, I went to the Studio on a reconnaissance mission.  When I left I was excited about the possibility but had no portfolio prepared to show.  I procrastinated for a few months which gave me loads of time to second-guess my work, time & ability.  Then I talked to my brother.  Aside from my mom, he's my biggest supporter & champion of moving forward & always gives the best advice.   He said to call & make an appointment so I have a deadline & no excuses.  The next day I did just that.

Today I'm in my 3rd (or 4th) year at the Studio (I honestly can't remember).  I love every second of it.  I've met awesome people (and even snagged a new bff) and have all of their talent at my fingertips.  Can you imagine how it revolutionizes your gift-giving to have personal access to painters, potters, seamstresses, woodworkers, photographers & silversmiths??  I have my favorites, I admit.  With their permission, I hope to feature them from time to time here in my little corner of the interweb.  And despite the fact that nearly every one of them has had something to say about the "glitter situation" at the Studio, I think we're kind of like a big, colorful, creative family.  So thanks "someone special to me".  Thanks "someone special to her". Thanks big brother.