office daze

About a year ago while I was cleaning out some of the desks in our office, I discovered a package of construction paper.  It's almost sad how excited I got over this discovery.  Since then, I've been using it for various "projects" and decorations for different occasions.  It's always kind of a fun challenge to see what things I can make with just the supplies we have here.  

Every now and then, I'll whip up something quick while I'm waiting for documents to load or when I'm on hold during a call.  It's never anything spectacular, but it keeps me busy, and keeps me happy. :)

Today I got a small jump start on valentine's day decorations by making a small banner.  Unfortunately, one of the tools we don't have (but always need) is a ruler, so I always have to cut things by freehand.

And since you can't tell what the heck that is from far away, here it is a bit closer:

Just a quick "happy valentines day" banner using red and white paper and some string we had left over.

But my favorite part is what I did with the scraps of red and white paper I had:

One of the perks of having your girlfriend working at the same office is that she makes you pretty things :).  I love that you can see his reflection in the framed photo of us.  And I love how the flowers came out.  Better than I thought they would, especially considering I only had a glue stick to work with (note to self... keep hot glue gun in purse at all times!)

[sorry for the terrible photos.  I don't bring my camera to work, so I improvised with my phone.... it goes along with the whole use-what-you-can-find-in-the-office theme, I guess. ;) ]

works in progress..

Well... I can safely say that nothing is getting done around here.

I'm beginning to think I need a project board to keep all of my projects in line.  I keep coming across random knick knacks and saying to myself "ohhh yeah... I bought that to make (insert one of 30 craft ideas here)".  The only thing I've been working on consistently is my "doggy quilt", and well... let's just say I've come across a few obstacles.

...one furry white obstacle particularly comes to mind.

I'm not sure when Mocha started claiming everything as hers, but apparently I'm no longer entitled to the material I'm planning to use as the quilt binding.

In other news, I've decided to redecorate my room, because it's seriously starting to depress me how incredibly pathetic it looks.  The problem is that I agreed to take the smallest room in the house, and I have the biggest bed... so you can just imagine all the clutter I have to navigate through.  It's time I did something about it.  I'm in dire need of:

• Shelves (LOTS of shelves)
• A small desk lamp or a wall hanging lamp to replace the gigantic floor one I currently have (why do I have so much big furniture in such a small room?!)
• Cheerful decorative pillows (even my bed looks sad)
• Decorations that will make me want to be in my room

I'm gathering a bunch of ideas from various blogs, and I'm actually very excited about it.

....I'm guessing I won't get much done until after Valentine's Day, though... because Valentine's crafts are just simply too tempting. :)

birthday wishes

First of all... happy birthday to me. :)

I've discovered that birthdays are getting less and less enjoyable as the years go by (I can't even begin to think about the day I turn 30...), so I decided to spend a part of this year's birthday doing something productive and fun.  You know, to get my mind off of the fact that I'm aging every minute and there is nothing I can do to stop it. :P

I had been trying to finish a self binding blanket  like the one I saw at Piece N Quilt a little while ago, but I found that finishing projects can get really, really difficult when the little ones are out.

She loves soft things, and unfortunately, she believes everything belongs to her, so I had a little bit of trouble trying to cut and pin this thing.

I shooed her away, but I turned my back for one minute, and...

...she brings toys! Sigh.

Well anyways, I finally managed to finish it, and I think it turned out fantastic. :)  It was super easy, and took very little time.  I chose two fabrics I'd been kind of eyeing at Joann's for a while, so it felt nice to be able to make something out of it.

My blanket isn't square like the tutorial tells you to do (what can I say, I'm a rebel).  Instead, I made it a bit longer, since I knew it wouldn't be used as a baby blanket.  I don't know any babies, so my solution to baby blankets is to make them juuust a bit larger, and use them myself. :P

The inside fabric is just a pale pink with white whales.  Whales! I almost forgot how much I loved whales. :)

Anyways, since I don't know any babies (as previously stated), and the dog seemed to love it anyways...

...I'm such a pushover.

winter flings and crafted things

Happy 2012. :)

Usually every year gets me very sentimental and reminiscent, but it looks like things are starting to change.  2011 was one heck of a ride, and if I've learned anything from last year, it's that you have to quit freaking out about the past and get excited for the future.  It's pretty healthy of me, if I do say so myself. :P

So some of the many, many things I'm excited for this year are all the lovely crafty things I'm planning to make. :) I already have a pretty hefty list in my head (again, thank you family for the lovely sewing machine, and thank you me for the awesome new knitting supplies and paper craft kits. :D), and I thought it'd be a great idea to keep a record of the things I've made.  It's a bit for motivation, a bit for record keeping, and a lot of trying to record my progress.  It should be fun. :)

Anyhow, here's a few of my favorite things I've made this winter...

{ peacock scarf } I was walking through Michael's one day and came across this beautiful yarn I couldn't walk away from.  It's greenish-blue with a bit of purple, and parts of it reflects the sunlight. It's gorgeous! And since I'd just bought myself some new size 13 bamboo knitting needles, it seemed like the perfect quick project.  It's so soft and comfy (and long... I love long scarves), it's quickly become my go-to scarf. I'm actually wearing it right now!

 { forest critters pillowcase } Pillowcases are my new favorite project. So simple, so fun, and I think it does a fantastic job of transforming a bedroom.  My sister picked out and bought the fabric because she was in need of a new pillowcase, but after I made it I begged her to let me keep it.  I eventually had to give it up, but I always use her pillow when I want to take a nap in the house.

{ giraffe bag } I love giraffes.  I love fabric on clearance.  What can I say?  My worlds collided.  Another quick project, nothing too fancy, but the giraffes make me love this bag. :)

{ dog sweater } I came across this tutorial on knitting easy dog sweaters and I had to give it a go.  The yarn is a mix of dark and light browns with some tan and orange.  It's very Thanksgiving-y... but Mocha was born on Thanksgiving, so it fits quite nicely. :)

{ organza flowers } Ever since seeing these on Little Birdie Secrets, I've been obsessed with making these organza flowers.  They're on clips, they're on headbands, on scarves... they're on everything I own.  Super easy, and super pretty.

Currently I'm working on knitting a very pretty salmon pink/peach-ish scarf, and I have fabric being pre-washed right now so I can get started on even more things. :D Not to mention Valentine's Day is coming up, which means my hands are going to be busy making stuff for that fun day.  And then I'll have spring things to make.  Like spring quilts!  And maybe some sundresses.  Oooh, perhaps some fun bags....

2012 is going to be great. :)