Recently ... (pic heavy)

Once again, I have neglected this space. So here are some of the things I've been playing with lately. :)

Nails:

Crackle! Maybelline Firefly from the 2011 spring collex with the white China Glaze crackle over top. I loved this.



I won the OPI FB giveaway!



And tried Cheyenne Pepper



Tried out a new Jesse's Girl polish, Glee. It's beautiful but stained the CRAP out of my nails and skin. :(




Thought I found a HTF Hard Candy polish, but it ended up just being mislabeled. :( It's not actually Zombie.




Tried out one of my 3 free Zoyas. Miley is seriously beautiful.




Made a fun franken for an awesome friend. It's called My Sour Valentine.





Quilting:

I have FINISHED my very first quilt thanks to the That Girl ... That Quilt Along!!

My dog always gets in the way when I try to take pictures of it, LOL!




I joined the 3x6 mini quilting bee block swap and completed the blocks for my hive. So fun! Here are the blocks I made:














Crafty: I've been working on test products for my upcoming etsy store grand opening! No pics of this stuff at this time ... ;)


The Jr. production of God Spell at the Landis Theater wrapped in February. Here's a pic of Miss M that is just so unbelievably fantastic in my humble opinion. :D



She wasn't cast in the current production, which is Wizard of Oz, however she will be part of the stage crew with her brothers. Fun fun! Mommy (me, lol) is auditioning for a role in Cabaret tonight. Here's to breaking legs!!



And that's about it I guess! Have a great day!

Hangin' with my gnomies and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Concrete

I made this little guy last night (pattern from the Doodle Stitch Along). I haven't embroidered since middle school, lol, so forgive me for looking a novice.




I pretty much love him. I can't wait to see next week's pattern!


My current mani is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Concrete. These pics are 1 coat over Nailtek II Foundation with 1 coat Seche Vite on top.







Concrete is a warm mauvey taupe creme. This mani really should have been 2 coats, but I was short on time, so 1 coat sufficed. To be completely honest, I didn't buy this polish because I liked it. I bought it because it was 50 cents after sale and coupon, lol! I'm glad I didn't pass it by though because it turns out I quite like it! I'm not crazy about the SH brush or formula, so I tend to pass by this brand a lot. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY like a wide brush, HOWEVER, the stem is also very wide, which leads to problems when swiping the brush against the bottle neck to remove excess polish. What ends up happening is that the stem doesn't make much contact with the bottle neck since it is too wide compared to the curve of the bottle opening, so as you are applying to the nail, excess polish is running down the stem of the brush. It's a real pain in the ass, lol. The formula is a little runny too, so pooling is an issue. This is also pretty slow to dry, even with a fast dry top coat. Overall, I guess it's worth the $3 retail price point (even though you can get better for less) because of the unique color. These are often discounted at drugstores though, so I can't imagine ever paying more than a buck fifty for one ... pair with a coupon, and at 50 cents, it was worth every penny! :-)

I love when a new project is free! Paper flowers ...

I've been a crafting fool today. YAY!

So, I saw the most adorable little paper flower adornments at Bee In My Bonnet some time ago, and decided to give them a try tonight. I had everything on hand!! No running to the store and spending up more of our precious money on a whim, LOL!!! I'm so bad for that. Anyway, check out Bee In My Bonnet for the instructions to make these cuties.

I used different designs instead of all the same and only 4 tiers instead of 5. I just kind of mixed and matched my prints randomly. I also haven't decided if I will add leaves or not.

Close up of one of my favorite combos

A pile of pretty. Shame the colors get so washed out with my camera.

With flash ... gives a few of the colors a little better representation.

I have decided that one of these little cuties will adorn all of our xmas packages in lieu of the standard bow. In an effort to be more environmentally conscious, I also intend to wrap with either a new, made by me pillow case or newsprint tied with ribbon. I hope it goes over well!

Quilt Along Progress

Here are a couple shots of my quilt along progress (That Girl ... That Quilt Along)



Here is the mountain of scraps rendered from wonkifying my blocks.


Here are a couple of blocks laid out to show the wonky effect. It's pretty subtle, but gives the simple layout a little more interest.

Now I just need to sew the blocks into rows and the rows into the finished quilt top! The QAL layout is for 5 blocks by 8 blocks, but I'm not crazy about the long and narrow look. So, instead, I think I'll do 6x6.

I finished Miss M's blanket!!!

It's SO big. It took SO long. I am SO glad I'm finished!!! I started this crocheted blanket about 3 years ago, but only had about a 6 inch wide strip done as of this summer. Apparently I'm a slow starter ... Anyway, I started working on it in earnest mid-summer and it is DONE DONE DONE! Here's the whole thing on our love seat.


I used a yarn by Bernat in a raspberry color. 11 skeins in total. I got them on clearance oh so long ago. (and yeah, the cats scratch up the furniture)


Here it is folded in 4. It nearly covers the love seat cushions.


I added a ruffle around the edge in a teal color. I wanted something that would stand up to the raspberry, but I don't especially love it. In hindsight, I think a buttery yellow would have looked nice. Or brown maybe (her comforter is bright pink and brown).



I thought it might look nice if I rolled the blanket up to take a pic like the quilters do. Yeah, not so flattering on a crocheted afghan, lol!




I didn't use any pattern. I just did rows and rows of double crochet, and then I did alternating rows of dc and slip stitching, and then switched back to just dc and then back to dc/slst. The ruffled edge was super simple too. I just slip stitched 2 rows around to lay the foundation and then the ruffle is 3 chain stitches slip stitched in every other stitch of the foundation.

I don't even know if I'm using the right terminology, LOL!!! Anyway, overall, I'm really happy with this finish. It's my first crochet project ever, so in that respect, it's damn good! Miss M knows she's getting the blanket for xmas, but the teal portion I did all in super secret, so that detail will be a surprise. I can't wait till she sees it finished!