Wants and Needs

I had an epiphany just the other day. You see, I was feeling pretty down in the dumps, so I was googling for inspirational sayings and feel goods and blah blah blahs. Yet, what I stumbled upon wasn't any of those things, but I was immediately drawn in to the article. 

The article discussed things like wants and needs. It was rude, crass, and bordered on hateful. For some reason, it was just what I needed to read. So, I read it twice. 

As it turns out, I want a lot of things just like all the other people in the universe-to be rich, to be happy, to quit smoking, to lose weight, to be a great parent, to go to or finish college. I'm not alone and having that knowledge made me feel better. 

However, the difference between me and a lot of "successful" people is that they don't just wish and dream about things. They get off their asses and make things happen. I'm not one for really making anything happen. Sure, I'll spend a lot of time researching something, but I never really do anything about it.

After I read the article last week, I pondered on it. Do I really want the things I say I do? Have I really thought things through? In most cases, no. I have not. That's why things stay the same for me. 

What I'm saying is this...I can only make changes if I really, truly, deep down on the inside DO IT. I have to do the things I don't want to do. 

Today was the day, friends. I saddled up. I got back on my bike. Literally. 

Slapped in my Chubby Face

Sometimes, I look at myself and think "damn. How'd you get to be so overweight?"  I lie to myself most of the time, but the truth is that I've let myself go and haven't eaten well or exercised. I do have a health condition that helps me pack on and keep the pounds, but ultimately, this is my own doing. 

Last night, I had an epiphany. I really can lose weight and get healthy if I choose to.  No one is responsible for me except for me. 

I've lost about 20 pounds or so since January, but that's without really, honest to goodness, working hard at it. If I make health my focus, I should be more successful, right?

My problem is knowing HOW to be healthy. All I know is being unhealthy and unhappy with my body. Guess it's time to do a little thinking and a lot more moving. The rest of my life starts today. 

Boobie beanies...crocheted

Okay. I can do just about anything Martha Stewart can, but I can't crochet or knit. I learnt the basic crochet chain and granny square, but that was a long time ago. I hated it!  

It's a little embaressing. Most of the women in my family crochet, but not me. My mother is annoyed by my lack of crochet skills because I blame her left handedness. Haha! 

At any rate, mom obviously crochets. 

Like a crazy person. 

Well, I'm a huge advocate for breast feeding. I nursed both my kids when it wasn't cool,  and my sisters nurse(d) theirs. Many of my friends breast feed. 

Apparently my aunt is a huge advocate, too. Her church is hosting a breast feeding awareness drive, and my crochet crazy mother is making tons of these: Boobie beanies. 

Oh. 

My. 

God!

The big one is for my aunt. I laughed so hard, I nearly fell over. I put in a request for my 8 week old nephew. His mom, by the way, is a milk cow now. 

Yay! Boobies!

How to make a deco mesh wreath part 2

So, I gathered my supplies for setting up the basic wreath. 

I'm making a small wreath for my cubicle at work, so I'm using a 12" wire frame, 4 rolls of 5" mesh ribbon, and some tiny satin ribbon. Usually I use 2-3 rolls of mesh, but I wanted to make the small wreath extra frou frou in honor of Autism Awareness month in April!  

The first thing I do I select my base mesh color. I ordinarily start with the darkest color and add the lighter colors second or third. For this wreath my base color is blue.

Start by adding pipe cleaners to two rows of rings. Fold the pipe cleaner (chenille stem) in half as pictured. 

You can twist in place around the ring two or three times, but I prefer to use zip ties. 

I place a pipe cleaner and zip tie around each section of the inner rings. You can do all 4 sections, 3, or 2. Most of the time I only put a pipe cleaner on the innermost ring and the third ring (or 2nd from outside). 

Continue adding your folded pipe cleaners to your work wreath. You'll end up with a jumbled mess like mine above. Once you've got all the zip ties or pipe cleaner twists in place, snip the zip ties to get rid of the extra length. If you didn't use zip ties, there's nothing more to do to prepare for your mesh. 

Ready for deco mesh!  This is the fun part. 

Grab your base mesh and gather about. 3-4" section in your hand to create a tail. Insert this into the innermost set of pipe cleaners and twist them around the mesh. Don't twist too tighly, or you'll break the pipe cleaners. Don't twist too loosely, or your mesh will pop out!

The tail!

Pushing the mesh into place between the pipe cleaner. Twist!  You want to make sure the tail is toward the center of the frame because you're going to pull it through to the back when you're done. 

Now, gather up some mesh, and move it toward the next set of pipe cleaners in the inside ring. Push into place. Fluff the mesh when needed and twist! Keep doing this all the way around the center while trying to maintain an even distribution of mesh. 

When you're done with the inner ring and you've reached your tail, move to the back row of pipe cleaners using the same method. When you reach the beginning of the back row, do the final twist, and cut the mesh leaving about a 6" tail. We'll wrap that around the back when we're done. 

Next up, the second color!  Starting in the inner ring again, grab your second color of mesh, grab a 3-4" tail, unwrap a set of ties, insert your starter second color, and twist. Work yourself around the inner and outer rings while untwisting pipe cleaners and inserting the second color. Don't forget to twist back together. 

Keep doing this for both the inner and outer rows. Whenever you want to add a new color, just untwist, add a tail, fluff, and go. Always start with the innermost ring!

Feeling Creative = Feeling Better

Yesterday I started working with some wooden puzzle pieces. As most of you know, my little guy has a very interesting outlook on life. Because of his differences, we, his mom and dad and family, see things a little differently, too. At any rate, he has Asperger's Disorder, which is also called High Functioning Autism. 

Since Autism Awareness month is April, I decided those little wooden puzzle pieces would be great doo-dads for an Autism Awareness frou! 

I painted them up in Folk Art acrilyc primary red, blue, and yellow last night, and today I'm working on the matching frou frou wreath to go with it. 

April is Autism Awareness month

And since my favorite little guy has Asperger's, a frou was in order!

I used a 16" work frame, royal blue pipe cleaners, and my staple:zip ties. First I attached the ties and twists, then I started on the center ring with royal blue. 

After adding blue to the inner and outer rings, I added red to the center, and I added yellow, too! 

Next, I added some matching yellow wire-edged ribbon, a big frou frou bow, and then hot glued the puzzle pieces on the wreath.

Fabulous!

How to Make a Deco Mesh/poly mesh wreath

Several people have asked me how I make my little frou frou wreaths, so I thought it would be awesome to show you guys how I do mine. 

First, you want to gather the following items: a wire work frame, coordinating mesh, coordinating pipe cleaners, zips ties (optional), glue gun, glue sticks, coordinating ribbon, extra doo-dads for fluffery. 

Coffee not included!

Traditionally, these things can be found at just about any hobby store. I buy my wire floral frames in bulk without pipe cleaners (chenille stems) attached already, but you can also buy work wreaths with the needles already on there. Those save time, but they're more expensive. I pay around $2.00 (or less) for my unadorned frames. The already pipe cleanered ones run around $7.00. They come in all sizes. I recommend at least 14". Most deco mesh wreaths use an 18"-20" work wreath frame. 

Pipe cleaners are fairly cheap, so I buy a big variety bag for around $2.00. Typically, there are around 50-100 per bag. You only need about 20, or fewer, for each wreath. You can buy plain ones, extra fluffy ones, and bumpy ones in all kinds of colors. Make sure you pick ones that match your mesh colors. 

Mesh can be found in the floral aisle of most craft and hobby stores, or you can get it online reasonably cheap. The prices range from $3.00-$15.00 per roll. I advise at least 2 rolls per wreath, but you'll have extra. Depending on the size of my work frame, I purchase 4" wide mesh to 21" wide mesh. The bigger the frame, the bigger the width of your mesh. For example, a 12" work wreath calls for 5" mesh, while an 18" frame calls for 21" mesh. Got it?

Pick your ribbon. You can use any kind. I prefer wire-edged, but any ribbon will do. Make sure the width matches the size of the wreath. What do I mean? Don't make up a 12" wreath with 6" deco mesh and use 5" satin ribbon. It probably wouldn't look so great. You can find ribbon just about everywhere. 

Did you notice I said I use zip ties? You can find smaller green floral ones at craft stores, and you can also find assorted colors and sizes at hardware, computer, office supply, and tool stores. I use them to keep the base pipe cleaners in place. They're totally optional, some people use glue or nothing at all. 

Doo-dads. You can find lightweight, non-breakable signs, flowers, and other fluff just about anywhere. Make sure it won't melt when you glue it in place. And make sure it's weather proof. 

Gather your supplies, and I'll show you how to make a small autism awareness wreath in my next post. 

I need...

To get out of this house before I go insane!  I've been stuck here since Monday, and I want out, out, out!  

I'm grateful, however, my friends and family have been wonderful supporters of my recovery. In fact, the neighbor is at the door with fresh cookies!

Daily frou in Green

It's a little late for this cutie, but I whipped this one up for my door to celebrate Saint Patrick's day. It even survived all the Oklahoma winds we've been having. Oddly enough, it's still hanging on the door because I haven't made an Easter frou yet. I should probably remove it. After all, it is April 1st. 

It's a 16" wire work frame, emerald green deco mesh, leprechaun hats from the dollar tree, green and white and gold dollar tree flowers, clovers, and sparkly green green wire with clovers. This was a fun one to make and turned out beautifully. 

My hilarious sister in law Carla said "You must be some kind of Irish to have a decoration of that magnitude on your door".  Yep. Just a little bit. :) 

Exciting changes in my life

I'm rather excited about some new things happening in my life. These are silly things, but I'm happy about them none-the-less.

 First,my baby girl is buying her first new-to-her car. I'm proud and envious all at the same time. The little shit bought the car I wanted and in the color I wanted! I've never had a car newer than 10 years old, but she's working hard and is being responsible with her money. I'm so proud of what she's doing with her life. I guess she has learned by my example of struggling in life because of making irresponsible choices. 

Second, I'm looking forward to wearing light colored pants, dresses, and skirts. Silly, I know. But you may or may not be able to understand how awfully depressing it is bleeding from the nether regions 24/7. I became so anemic that I nearly had to be transfused a couple years ago. For a long time, I was uninsured and couldn't take care of my issues.  I'm insured now, and I'm taking care of business! I am so hopeful about not bleeding like that anymore!  Wearing white, even though it looks horrid on me, is something I haven't really done in my child-bearing years. I'm going to rock light colors like no ones business!

Third, I am really excited about the changes in my career life. I've worked diligently for my education, and it's paying off...finally. I've been blessed with an awesome job with awesome people and a decent paycheck. It happens so seldom that someone gets paid to do what they love!  I've met some amazing people that I can call friends, and that is priceless. In my part time job, I'm even doing well! I finally get to teach different classes because of all the hard work I've put in!  Yay for extra money to get out of debt!

Fourth, I'm happy my husband and son have been personally growing. Hubs has been on a lovely evolutionary path since he began learning about himself, and D is learning how to handle his sensory processing issues. My boys make me proud! 

Fifth, my littlest sister has entrusted us with the care of my adorable nephew. I'm excited about being able to be involved in his little life. It means a lot to me to be trusted to care for such an awesome little treasure. 

That's about all I can think of for now. I continue to see the wonderful things happening in my life, and I'm so grateful for all the positive changes. I don't say this kind of thing often because I believe it's not necessary to state the obvious, but I'll say it today. I'm so happy The Lord has given me and my family abundant blessings. 

Post-surgery

I'm feeling fairly well after my short, minimally invasive surgery yesterday morning. I dozed off and on most of the day, but I was up most of the evening to hang with the D man. Poor Jessie was pooped out, too.  I figured he needed back up. 

I've got to say, so far this has been the best surgery I've had.  I had one in 2000 for sinuses, one in 2002 for cyst and appendix, one in 2004 for cysts and endometriosis, and a couple in 2007 for gallbladder, liver biopsy, and pancreatitis.  I wouldn't say I feel like a million bucks, but I don't feel like total dog shit. That, in and of itself, impresses me. I'm barely bruised, my incisions are quite small, and the pain is minimal. I'm happy! 

This time my new, young, cute, kick-ass doctor drained cyst on the right ovary, finished draining a cyst on the left ovary, cleaned up some nasty scar tissue from the appendix and gallbladder surgeries, and performed a uterine ablation. Considering all the work he performed, I've even questioned myself if I really got cut open! And before you ask, I'm only taking weenie level Percocets (5-325) every 6 hours. In between I'm taking Ibuprofen 800's. 

I'm feeling quite blessed that my pain is at a minimal; I actually feel that I could go back to work for a few hours. However, I won't because I do need to rest and not push myself. 

It also helps that my family and friends have really come through for me in this time of need. My hubby has been a true blessing and has helped me with everything I've asked, even though his back is hurting him these days. My daughter did some shopping for us which helped tremendously. My little D and his friends even helped today. My friends have all volunteered to help me out in any way they can, and my awesome neighbor made dinner for us. My sweet sister, Rachel, will be bringing dinner to us on Wednesday. I'm feeling loved. It's good to feel loved. 

Of course, with all this help I'm getting, it still didn't stop me from waking up at 2 a.m. To try to clean the kitchen (who knew you couldn't bend over to load and unload a dishwasher less than 24 hours after surgery), pack D's lunch, and get his clothes ready for school, and do some homework. 

Alas, now I'm tired. Off to bed again!

For the love of TP

Yesterday I mentioned one of my favorite creations: the TP roll & twig canvases I created for the bathroom. I totally stole the idea from Pinterest. I know. I know. I actually think mine turned out better than what was on Pinterest, but how did I make it?

First, I collected twigs from the front yard. 

Then I cut TP rolls into 5 pieces each and painted them in nature colors. 

I then painted three canvases in a nice, neutral color. 

When everything dried, I place the twigs on the canvases and sawed in the appropriate spots. Then I adhered the twigs to the canvases like this. I used hot glue. 

After the main parts of the twigs were adhered, I glued smaller twigs to make them look like branches like this:

After the branches were in place, I placed the leaves on the branches and glued them down. 

Looking good so far!  Once the branches and leaves were properly attached, I filled in the leaves with matching colors and began to make a little blue bird to adorn the branches. 

We have blue and green birdies throughout the house, so it was only fitting to have one hanging out in the tree branch canvases. Plus Doren insisted I include some blue into the project. What's better than a blue bird?!

Cute, isn't it?! 

Unfortunately my bathroom wall didn't cooperate with my original plan, so I had to arrange the canvases accordingly. 

This was one of the neatest and cheapest projects to make. It took some time, but the outcome was excellent for my nature/forest themed bathroom. 

Toilet Paper...crafts!

Today I've been feeling a little weird and out of sorts, so I thought the best way to escape the oddball feeling was to make something.

For a few months I've been collecting toilet paper and paper towel roll. A few months ago I made some art from canvases, twigs, and some of my rolls, and I thought another upcycled project was certainly in order. 

I started by cleaning the extra paper off the rolls and smashing them flat like this:

Next, I cut each roll into pieces like this:

Then I began gluing each piece together at the center to make these cute little flowers:

Originally, I began to paint the entire rolls blue, but thought they might be easier to paint once they were in the proper shapes. We shall see. Here's a pic of some of the blue ones I've already done. 

I

The lighter blue paint doesn't stick as well as the darker, and I wanted an ombré blue set of flowers. Guess we'll have to wait and see how it all turns out. 

So, I used three shades of blue spray paint for my flowers and leaves. 

Are these not the cutest things ever?! 

Das frou for the day

What you see before you is the gigantic wreath explosion I made up for Katie's friend Natalie for her red and black bedroom. 

I used red, black, white, and black and white checkered mesh coiled into rolls. These were attached to a 16" wire work wreath frame. 

The Mardi Gras frou

OWhen my friend Dee was about to celebrate her birthday, I wanted to make something special for her. She is such a fun, colorful person that whatever I made had to be a reflection of her amazing personality, so I selected bright, bold colors. 

Dee's favorite color is purple, so I started her 14" wreath with royal purple mesh. Since good friends are priceless, I thought adding gold mesh would reflect her awesomeness.

After I finished with her wreath colors, I added sparkly teal peacock ribbon. It was coming along well! Before I knew it, her wreath was shaping up to look like a Mardi Grad wreath! 

I painted a funky fun S in purple and sparkles to reflect her sparkly personality, whipped up a bow, attached a hanger, and professed the wreath done!

What do you think?

The Wine Frou

One of my favorite wreaths so far is my wine themed kitchen wreath that the guys call Steampunk Meets Gothic Queen. 

She's a burgundy and black number with matching ribbon, burgundy flowers, and black berries. 

I used an 16" wire frame, deco mesh, and other doo-dad-ery. 

7 day challenge

Since nothing is ever routine in my life, I decided to blog for 7 days instead of 30. We'll see how that goes. 

Yesterday I posted the not so infamous G Wood I made up for Nicky Joe. Today, I'd  like to share the Katie explosion wreath.

The G Wood

My husband's best friend Nick will celebrate his birthday tomorrow. In honor of his trip around the sun, I made him a manly frou frou wreath out of straw, burlap, berries, and G wood. I tried to keep it simple yet fun. 

Procrastination

I won't waste too much space proclaiming the obvious--I have so little follow through. I started this blog over 5 years ago, and I revisit it occasionally, but I've made no true forward momentum. Oh well!

My friend Dee started an awesome little blog called Bathtub Reflections, and she inspired me to write again. Sooooo, here I am! 

In addition to starting my blog back up, 

I've decided my little spot in cyber land needs to be dedicated to something specific. Enter...

Frou Frou time!