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!