Wordless Wednesday

Have a princess in the house?

Then you might need these!

Princess Curtains - Cheap and Easy

(please note, these were FREE for me, because the sheer fabrics happened to be in a box of free fabric I scored from Craigslist. This may not be super cheap for you, however I do often see drapery type fabrics on the cheap at thrift stores. Just a tip.)

Level of difficulty: Easy - you simply need to know how to sew in a straight line

Materials Needed:

• Sewing machine
• thread
• scissors
• sheer fabric, approx 6-8 yards (give or take)
• a window to put them on

Step One:

Assess the pile of fabric that 6-8 yards of sheers creates

Step Two:

Fold in half lengthwise, and if you're crowded like me, lay it out on the floor because there's not room anywhere else

Of course, looking at my photo here, I cut this piece the WRONG WAY. Don't do this. Do it like this:

Step Three:

Cut along that fold on the long side, so you end up with two long skinny pieces. I have two fabrics, so I did this twice, to end with 4 pieces.

(sorry I didn't take a picture. I'm assuming you know what 2 or 4 skinny, long pieces of fabric look like)

Step Four:

Fold over the raw side of one strip, and hem. OR, be lazy like me, and do a decorative stitch down the side without folding over a hem, so it'll only fray to that point.

Step Five:

Measure the rod your princess curtains will be going on, then turn down approximately twice that at the top of your sheer. For example, the rod that these will be going on is about 1 inch tall, so I turned down 2 inches or so. This allows fullness at the top later on.

Step Six:

OPTIONAL: If needed, hem the bottom of the panel as well. A small, 1 inch turn up should do it. Double and triple check that you're turning up on the same wrong side as your other hems, because it really sucks to get all done and then realize you have raw edges on both sides, especially on an attention grabbing center piece like curtains.

Repeat steps 1-6 on the rest of your curtain peices.

Depending on how large the window is that you're dressing, this will probably not take more than 20 minutes or so. However, if it DOES take longer, YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE. I blazed through this to try to surprise my daughter when she came home with the family, and I had no idea how much time I had to accomplish it. Turned out I had like 2 hours, but I did the quick and dirty job I show you here, just in case.

Final Step:

Sneak into your princess' room, climb as needed to access the window rod, slip the curtains on, bunch up and fluff to taste, take a Ta-Da! picture, and then wait around non-chalantly to see the reaction.

Ours was a huge grin and big thank you hug :)

So, I slept with an urchin

Last night's test with the sleep mask/sea urchin was a success! Not only was it very comfy, the slightly thicker elastic I used (rather than the teeny thin ones I see on mass produced masks) made it very secure. It didn't slip around at all, no matter how much I tossed and turned.

It's a bit bigger than the mask I currently own from Frederick's of Hollywood. I know I know, but it worked, ok? The only light it let in was down near the end of my nose, if I opened my eyes while wearing the mask. Negligible at best.

The fur only slightly tickled, and after about 5 minutes of lying there trying to assess how I felt about wearing it, I didn't notice the fur anymore. I wake up during the night most of the time, just enough to flip over and go back to sleep. I don't recall waking up at all last night, but I can't attribute that to the mask!

I did wake up with my alarm, and then again, and then again, as I reset it each time. Every time I had to move the mask to my forehead, the area around my eyes, etc got COLD. I realized then that the mask was actually warm, and so probably did contribute to my quality of sleep, as I sleep best when I'm warm all over.

I wasn't all sunshine and rainbows when I got up this morning, but I sure was happy with the mask itself. Secure, warm, comfy and dark, it does everything I want it to!

Now, to refine and perfect the awesome that is the Monster Mask.

A Sea Urchin's Attacking My Face!!

Oh wait...it's just my killer awesome Monster Sleep Mask!

Heck yes you read that right.

I have this little thing that's brewing with one of my BFFs, miss Ester of Not Another Princess...and so this sleep mask is my first run. There's definitely some tweaks to be done, and the final product will have a few touches that this one is lacking.

What it ISN'T lacking, however, is awesome to the power of 11.

Future masks will most likely have shorter fur, and I learned the valuable lesson of working with fur. Do not chew gum whilst doing so. Blech.

So...would YOU sleep with an urchin on your face? I'm going to try it out tonight and see what transpires. Perhaps he'll acquire a name, and ward off nightmares. I shall keep you posted.

A month late, a dollar short

The very long over-due birthday party post! I"m going to do a quick n dirty photo story post for you, instead of a long winded "this was my party" story :)

Air hockey is serious bizness in this family

My peaceful, pregnant SIL manhandling a rifle

Hard to see us, bumper boats were super fun, but we got rained on!

Ester rocked the ski game, which was pretty much the hardest video game ever.

It's the Little M Ghost of Bullwinkle's Golf Course!

I got one victory dance in, but mostly golfing was simply COLD

Matt and Little M riding the virtual roller coaster

Little M and I killing it on the bumper boats

Girl still talks about this as The Best Night Ever

My mom had an absolute blast at the arcade, I never thought I'd live to see the day!

And finally, just before we left, we discovered a Guitar Hero game. ROCK ON!

My birthday party was at Bullwinkle's Family Fun Center, and it was SO much fun to have a range of ages, from our little M on up to her grandparents in their 50's, all having fun and just playing. We even played Laser Tag! Confusing, loud and a total blast, even if I'm still not totally clear what I was doing :)

It was a great birthday, and the perfect way to celebrate, all of us having fun!

I'm ashamed of what I did for a Klondike Bar

Well, not me, personally. This is a submission on Auto-Complete Me, a new source of hilarity from our BFF, the interwebz.

This weekend I had my second counseling/therapy session. I don't talk much about my personal issues here, but I've begun seeing a therapist due to the previous events of this year. It's been good, these whole two sessions, but after talking with her this weekend, I realized something.

To most people, doing stupid, embarrassing things that you'd rather not talk about is part of the definition of "college". For me, that's pretty much my life. I tend to not think before acting, I'm ridiculously easily embarrassed, and due to the embarrassment or stupidity (or both) of the situation, I file those memories away in the Do Not Re-Open cabinet back in the dusty, dark corner of my brain's basement. The place where the spiders hang out, so I"m certain not to voluntarily visit.

I did my share (or more) of stupid things in college, sure. But, it didn't start or end in college. I just learn a small lesson, and move on. As my dad once said, he and I learn things by diving headfirst into the shallow end, instead of assessing things and getting in on the deep end, after taking everything into account.

Dang, sometimes my head hurts after these lessons.

Are these my pants?

Today should be a great day. I spent the first half in bed, snoozing away. Seriously, I didn't get up until noon! After lounging around for a while, I finally took a nice warm shower (doubly nice when it's 25 degrees outside!), and got dressed. Living with our in-laws, we take turns doing the grocery shopping, and our turn has come! Little M, Matt and I set off for WinCo, stopped at 7-11 for a hot dog and Slurpee lunch, because we're uber healthy.

Upon arriving to WinCo, I promptly managed to bite off Matt's head, freak out on Little M, and reject all attempts to hug me or calm me down. I have no idea what came over me, but for most of the time in WinCo I was impossibly grouchy.

For today, I have my grumpy pants on. Ever have days like that? I'm still feeling grumpy, but being home, sitting in a chair, typing this out and doing a whole lotta nothing feels pretty safe. I feel bad about how I've acted earlier, so I'm trying to be extra nice to my family to make it up to them.

A good way to calm down, a least for me, is working on my super bright Jaywalker socks! I'm nearly down the foot of the sock, and then i'll get to start over! Not so sure if I'll start the second sock right away, or if I'll start another pair...I'm not dedicated like that :)

Hopefully I'll be wearing different pants tomorrow!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

You guessed it:

Our house is so warm and cheery this time of year, I just love it. It's never one of those "Christmas threw up in here" sort of houses, but there's the obvious tree and stockings, the rest is touches here and there.

Lots of snuggles, giggles, memories, music and off-key singing accompany the yearly decoration tradition in our house. This year we turned on the Trans Siberian Orchestra's DVD and fell in love with their music all over again.  We have a friendly looking entry table now, with a happy snowman who greets everyone that walks through our door, a lovely smelling wreath on the front door that a friend gave us, and little glimmers of the holiday season peeking around the house at us.

From left to right: Matt, taking a break from "fluffing" the faux tree branches; a jingle bell found lurking; father-in-law John putting the final touches on the tree before decorating; Little M caught in a rare moment of quiet

Petrie refused to get into the spirit of things.

I love the time spent with family when we get ready for any celebration, it's always something fun and enjoyable.

May you have a blessed holiday with your family and loved ones, stay safe, and may peace be with you all.

Love,

Kristin

Google Thyself!

I saw this on Pocket Full of Buttons, who has a killer blog.  Play along with us...it's easy!

Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search

 Kristin needs to move, and check other corners. Kristin needs to be everywhere

Type in "[your name] looks like" in the Google search

Kristin looks like hell on the airplane

Type in "[your name] wants" in the Google search

Kristin wants a bike, a robot, a dollhouse, and an American Girl doll.

Type in "[your name] does" in the Google search

Kristin does the Napolean Dynamite Dance

Type in "[your name] hates" in the Google search

Kristin Hates my Blog, Miz!

Type in "[your name] asks" in the Google search

Kristin asks Justin while sitting in a Sin City casino. “I don't think so,” he answers. “You kind of make me do things I don't usually do

Type in "[your name] likes" in the Google search

Kristin likes to build sand castles and watch for dolphins.

Type in "[your name] eats" in the Google search

Kristin eats death.

Type in "[your name] wears" in the Google search

Kristin wears black leather high heeled booths and black tight leather pants that show off her every curve. She wears a black leather cuff on her left wrist ...

Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in the Google search

Kristin , a 25-year-old Muncie woman was arrested Tuesday after nailing husband in the ...

Type in "[your name] loves" in the Google search

kristin loves you all so much and nobody can ... Kristin loves you!

bahahahahahaha it helps that there's several "hot" current celebrities with the same first name as me. I can tell you honestly that NONE of these results was actually about me personally. But I DO love you!

Shopping Questionnaire

1. What is favorite item to shop for and why?

I like to shop for shoes and bags, ironically. I don't know why, I've always loved accessories, and since they cost less than clothes (well, the accessories I buy do...), it's a cheap thrill :)

2. Quality vs. Price. Will you buy off-brand replicas at a discount store or must you have the real thing? Why or why not?

I could care less about branding, so as long as it's quality, I'll buy a knock-off or whatnot. Most times I can't afford big names, but if I manage to score one at the thrift store I will snatch it up because I know it usually is good quality!

3. Have you ever asked a sales clerk to remove something from display if it is the last one in the store? Tell us what special something would make you strip the clothes off a mannequin.
(which begs the question...Are all mannequins born naked?)

Yes I have, I think it was a sweater, but it's been years. Hmm, I think the perfect coat, a wool trench with a hood and deep pockets would make me strip the poor mannequin.

4. I really don't care if a guy goes shopping with me. I'm in my own zone and always have a plan. Are you an alone-shopper or would you like to have company?

I prefer shopping alone. My guy loves to window shop, and will go into a store with the intention to buy one thing, and wander the entire store to see what's what. I'm a goal-oriented shopper: I know what I want, I go for it, and get the heck out. I've never really LIKED shopping though. Thank goodness for the internet!
 
6. Do you like or do you get annoyed when salesclerks and store management follows you around asking "May I help you?" a million times? (I have no idea why this question followed the previous one.)

what happened to question 5? anyway, I HATE it when people follow me around. I don't mind being asked if they can help me, but past that, I've answered you, butt out.

7.. Create your very own store-brand name. (ie; Toys 'R Us, WalMart) What would YOUR establishment's name be?

Well, my brand is Meanbean, so I'd probably have a store called The Beanery or some such clever thing :)

8. Have you ever done anything other than actually try on clothes in a dressing room? (I have no idea why this question followed the previous one. Ahem.)

Actually, no. I've heard stories of such things, but never witnessed any shenanigans.

I suck, I can't remember which website I nabbed this meme from, boo :( Leave a comment if you know where it's from so I can give them credit!

Merry SITSmas everyone!

Check out SITS for prizes every hour!

Hey, what's that thing on your head?

Today, for the first time in my life, I'm wearing a headcovering to work. I am not typically someone who covers their hair, but I have been interested in this aspect of faith for some years now. I've read various sites, went to so far as to purchase a few scarves, and read more. I've prayed about it, thought about it, but never took any further action.

I was spurred on today by several different factors. None of them hold more weight than the other, at least for now. This morning when I left the house, it was 22 degrees F outside, with a bitter wind blowing. When I woke up, I had approximately 10 minutes until I needed to leave the house. I've been meaning to try out wearing this, but had intended to do so at home.

Due to the cold weather, no one has said anything to me, aside from the big boss commenting "Nice! That looks warm"

The wrap does keep my ears and head warm, hides my unwashed hair, etc.

I'm finding that sitting here at my desk, I'm holding my head differently, due to having this one. It's very light, etc, but I'm accustomed to the only time of having something like this on my head being a towel. So, I think it will take some getting used to.

One of the driving, personal reasons for wanting to do this is pride. I've always been told my hair is (fill in pleasant adjective here).  Now, pushing 30, I worry that I have an unhealthy pride in my appearance, specifically my hair. I've always done things with my hair, trying various styles, cuts and colors...and I see nothing wrong with that. But, I know the pride I have inside, the dark monster that sits there seething, feeding on the lovely kind compliments I've given, growing bigger and bigger.

I"m not sure if covering my hair is a solution, or another adornment that will feed that pride. Perhaps this is a trial to see. I"m quite happy, it's nearly 4 pm today and only the one comment. I'm thinking due to the cold, and our office furnace being unable to keep up with the sudden drop in temperature, wearing something of any sort on the head isn't that usual right now.

In the Christian community, there are many long-standing, sometimes raging, debates over whether the Bible says that women are to cover their heads or not. It often boils down to a single passage in which Paul is writing to the Corinthians regarding their behaviors, and what they should and should not be doing. No one has come to any convincing conclusion for my taste for either side. I simply feel that if you feel the need to cover yourself, be it your head, your arms, ankle, what have you, then do it. I believe that small prompting is the quiet voice of God nudging us toward His will. I also believe that not everyone is called to cover, just as not everyone is called to be married.

At this point, I would not say that I am called to cover my head, but I AM drawn to it, and like I said, have been for years. Having been a spur of the moment thing today, I think I will continue wearing the scarf, and pray about it, and my pride issues, and follow my heart as things progress.

I know this can be a touchy subject, but I would love to know your thoughts. Please remain considerate of your fellow readers in the comments, and know that any flames or personal attacks to ANYONE, myself or another commenter, will be deleted.

Do you cover your head? At certain times, all the time? What are your reasons, or reasons not to?

I would also love to know what you think when you see a woman whose head is covered. Do you make certain assumptions? Do you really notice? does it move you? Perhaps negatively?

If you do answer, please let us know your country location, so perhaps we can see the cultural differences in the views we all hold.

Featured Seller: Simply Unique Kreations

What is your name?   Tricia Kilmer

The name of your shop, and link?  Simply Unique Kreations     http://simplyuniquekreation.etsy.com

What do you make?  currently jewelry and soaps

What drives your passion/inspires you?  I love to create things with my hands, and love to see the reaction when people receive my pieces

Do you have a favorite material to work with?  right now i love working with wire all sizes and types

What is your favorite color?  Yellow

Do you have a gallery of works, such as a photo set on Flickr or Photobucket? Not right now, but I am very new to the artistic scene, i have heard a lot about Flickr so most likely I will be opening up one of those soon

Anywhere else we can find your products?  Right now etsy and Yaami handmade are the only places to find my stuff

What makes your items so great?  Everything I work on I spend a lot of time and effort on. 

Cake or death? cake

What is your mission?  To create quality products that people can afford, I am not in this for the money I am in it for the satisfaction of being an artist and giving out my creations

Please describe the space where you create (ie, sewing room, the forest, etc):  haha this question always cracks me up, I am currently creating in my living room at my own personal desk space.

Do you have any pets or family involved in your business? My husband helps me out tremendously, he is always looking for ways to get my name out there and he has been known to crochet a mean blanket now and then...I keep telling him to make some so i can sell them

What is your favorite of your current products?  One of my most favorite products is my pure elegance necklace.  It is 32" long and made with real black agate stones.  I love this piece, it looks great worn casually but also fabulous worn for an elegant evening

What, if any, plans do you have to add to your current line? I am going to be adding a  body kreations by simply unique kreations....it will offer soaps, bodywash, bath salts, bath bombs, lip balm.....and much much more.

Anything else you’d like us to know? I love what I do and hope everyone else loves it too

Another random tip!

Today's sewing tip is brought to you by the letter "I", for "interfacing"

I work with fusible interfacing almost exclusively, simply for ease of use. I see no reason to sew in interfacing when fusible does the job, and does it well.

That said, it can be tricky. Something to ensure you're happy with the end result, and please do this, don't experiment or you'll just end up sad. I learned this one the hard way.

When you lay your fabric down to be fused to the interfacing, make sure to iron the fabric first. Get all the wrinkles out of it, because once you add the interfacing, those wrinkles are pretty much there to stay. I had thought that, since the interfacing itself is iron-able, I could fuse it, THEN iron out the wrinkles.

Oh so wrong.

Even if you heat the interfacing and pull it off to iron just the fabric, the wrinkles are pretty much set in there. I don't know why this is, specifically, but it is, and it's not fun when you're a perfectionist.

On that same note, take an extra 10 seconds to hold your interfacing to the light and MAKE SURE THE SHINY SIDE IS DOWN before ironing. Fused iron to interfacing not only smells bad, but takes ages to clean off your iron.

Please, I beg of you, learn from my mistakes.

Good morning!

This lovely sight greeted me on my way to work this morning:

Now, this is a crappy cell picture taken as I was driving and not looking at the photo and hoping it would turn out. This does NOT do it justice. Every morning I drive to work along this river, and this morning, a HUGE full moon was beaming her lovely face at me across the river. The sky was a lovely dusky blue with hints of pink, you could see the shadows of craters on the moon's face, and it was shining a huge swath of white shining light across the river.

It felt like the sky was greeting me this morning.

I was so sure

Ever had one of those thoughts, a memory, or a flash back to something you were absolutely, positively, 100% certain happened? So much so, you remember feeling an item, being in that one store, the lighting? 

The bag you stashed it in? The one place you put it in your sewing room?

Too specific? Yeah, I was 150% sure I'd purchased this one piece of fabric for a certain secret project. Now I'm at a point where I actually need it, about a year later.

Last night I absolutely RANSACKED my sewing room, the various boxes that have accumulated, the closet that we shove everything in when we have to clean up the house fast, and still, no stinking fabric.

I even pulled out my receipt box where I keep them from my fabric purchases for the Meanbean business, thinking it would be in there if I had indeed made this purchase.

My receipts went back into October 2008, and yet...no luck.

The only scenario I can come up with is this:

This particular piece of fabric is specific, was new last year, and hard to find. I searched online and locally, debated long and hard over which color variation I would purchase, whether I would buy one, or two, etc. Essentially, I figure this is where it ended. I debated so long that it resulted in complete lack of action.

I will now check locally, which I doubt will have it, and then purchase online if local does not have it. I have confirmed several sources that have what I need, for reasonable prices. but still...if I had simply quit goofing around and BOUGHT IT ALREADY this would be a moot issue.

Sometimes I over-think things.

5 Things

List 5 foods you’ve never eaten:

• Dog
• Liver
• Insects
• Eggnog (not really a food but...)
• Fruitcake

List 5 places you’d like to visit:

• Paris, France
• Denmark
• Spain
• Italy
• Australia

List 5 things you hope to do in your lifetime:

• Backpack through a country
• Road trip across the USA with hubby
• Learn to speak Russian fluently
• Be a stay at home mom
• Never grow up

List 5 things you would never wear:

• Burlap
• Skinny jeans
• Hot pants
• Strapless anything
• Ugg boots

List 5 things you never want said to you:

• "It's just not working anymore"
• "Good evening ma'am, are you Mrs. L?" (from a police officer)
• "Wow, you HAVE gained weight"
• "I have something to tell you, please sit down"
• "I've been seeing someone"

*Inspired by QuizMeme.com, Borrowed from Not Another Princess

*insert clever Thanksgiving quip here*

Oh man you guys, Thanksgiving this year was nerve-wracking and fun all at once! What with a few awkward family dynamics, stoic in-laws most of us have never conversed with, and a small house to keep it all contained, plus I apparently had a stroke of Icandothis and offered to cook a dish....yikes.

Despite the anxiety moving into the holiday, everything was actually great, no one seemed to offend anyone else, the food all turned out at least good, if not great, and there was no drama! Boy, I love a holiday with no drama. Not that my family is drama-filled, but some get-togethers are just ripe for it.

There was a lovely set out of glassware for anyone who wanted a little wine:

I personally indulged a little, as for once, I was not to be driving! Our hostess had provided a lovely red Pinot Noir, and I made that half glass last...it was so nice!

Little M was a bit overwhelmed with the number of people, so she holed up in an empty room with her Nintendo DS, and was content. Fancy dress notwithstanding, she's still a 6 year old :)

Our hostess was my Sis in Law, who's just 11 weeks away from the birth of their first baby! It's a boy, and his name will be Logan. She's just a stick anyway, and so her baby bump is just extra cute on her tiny frame:

Can you believe she's nearly done? So tiny...sheesh!

Anyway, the various family members lounged around, chatting, arguing about football plays, or reading ads as they waited for the turkey and sundry to be done

Aunt Becky - mid-conversation

Matt - laughing it up in the kitchen (John in background - FIL)

BIL's brother Adam and his dad, intent on football

And then, oh then...time to EAT. With 16 people attending, and nearly everyone brought something...well...

All in all, a wonderful gathering, lots to be thankful for, and I came home feeling incredibly blessed. I hope you had a good Turkey Day as well!

I will leave you with some pictures of the fun decor that was to be found about the home...