Day 2- It's my Party FAVORITES

It's time for Day 2 of It's my Party!  Are you guys ready to have some fun?

Since Gwen and I are both trying to scale back  just a bit on the production of things, we decided this year to add in a couple of "Favorites" posts, so you can get to know us a bit better.  And yes it was just a way to get around making tons of new projects so quickly. ;)

I have to start by sharing a quick story.  On Sunday the children's organization in our church asked each of the children in our congregation to fill out a survey about their mothers.  In response to the question, "When my Mom goes shopping she likes to buy..."  my son replied, "craft junk!."

And he's very right.  If I have a few dollars hanging around, I will buy fabric, or ribbon, or punches or really anything craft related.  It's what I truly love.  So coming up with some favorites that weren't about crafting, was pretty difficult.  :)  However, I do have a life outside of crafting, so I'm excited to share a bit of that part of myself with you.

My favorite food?  Mexican hands down.  This is the dinner we had at a blogger retreat I went to a couple weeks ago.  It was provided by Cafe Rio- a VERY yummy restaurant. (although if you don't like cilantro, like my sister, you won't like it at all. :) )   I love black beans and they have the most delicious cilantro ranch dressing.  Yum.

Favorite music?  Country.  My favorite song right now is probably Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup.  It just makes me laugh every time I hear it, and my kids sing along to it which is hysterical.  Favorite artist wise though, I'd have to say it's a toss up, but I LOVE me a strong female voice- so Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Taylor Swift, Trisha Yearwood and Wynonna are some of my very favorites.

Favorite Junk Food?  I'm realizing how deep my love for Swedish Fish runs.  I have a bag of mini Cadbury eggs left over from Easter, but the first thing I go for is the fish.  That's love right there folks!  I prefer the multi-flavored ones over the plain red ones, but I'll eat whatever is on hand.  Along with swedish fish, I have a great love of Diet Coke.  Right now, in my maternal state, I can only drink the caffeine free variety because the fully loaded version makes me ill, but Diet Coke is Diet Coke and hard as I try, I just can't quit the stuff.  (Not that I ever try very hard ;) )

Favorite book of all time is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  I love her wit, her sarcasm, her descriptive style of writing.  All of it.  And the movie with Kiera Knightly- spot on favorite!  You can be my Mr. Darcy anytime!! :)

Favorite thing to do outside of crafting? (when I told Gwen I was thinking about adding this to my favorites- she said "you mean there are things to do outside of blogging and crafting?" ;) )  I love baking.  But since I'm also a mother, and I spend all my life cleaning up messes, I try to avoid making them, so it doesn't happen as often as it used to.  I also love hiking.  When my oldest was just a 6 month old infant, my friend and I hiked once a week for an entire summer.  We hit every canyon from City Creek to Provo in Utah and I loved every minute of it.  I still like to take the kids hiking, but we try to stick close to home and it's hard to know how difficult the trail will be (and who will resist the adventure) so we don't go as much as I'd like to.

My favorite color.  Growing up it was always blue, but in recent years I've found I have drifted a bit to the brighter side of the spectrum and I would have to say Yellow is probably my new fave.  Although orange is a close second.  It's hard to decorate with those colors, especially since my hubby is definitely a blue guy and won't let me paint any of our rooms yellow (we had a bad experience once), but I try to find ways to sneak it in. (like my yellow Sunshine Pillow from last year's party)

Favorite Movie- I would have to say that the movie I have to watch at least once a year is Anne of Green Gables/ Anne of Avonlea.  I love those movies and I have since I was a little girl.  I only have Anne of Avonlea on video, but I keep my eyes out and I'm hoping one day to own both sets on DVD. ;)   I am definitely a romantic comedy kind of girl, but I do enjoy a nice action flick every once in a while- "The Italian Job", any of the Bourne movies and movies starring Vin Diesel are always a welcome choice.

This quick little post has turned into a novel, so I'm going to assume you now know more about me than you ever wanted to and I'm going to sign off.  I would love for you to write your own little "favorites" post and leave the link in the comments- or feel free to just list your favorites in the comments.  I would love to get to know you better too!  And don't forget to head over to Gwen's blog too and find out more about her life outside of blogging/crafting.  It's a fun read. :)

Have a great Tuesday!
xoxo,
Amy

It's my Party- Day 1 Jersey Knit skirt

 

It's here!  Our 2nd annual Birthday Bash, where my Blogging BFF Gwen (of Gwenny Penny fame) and I share projects just for us as well as some of our favorite things and finish up with a Giveaway just for you!  You won't want to miss a single day of the fun. :)

 

When it came time to decide what project to do for the party this year, it obviously had to be something for me. :)  I have been itching to make this skirt for a while, and I've had the fabric on hand for a couple of months, but just never seemed to find the time to make it for myself.  Last week I made the time, and I'm so glad I did.  This skirt is super comfortable and I think it will be a staple in my wardrobe for the next couple months (who am I kidding, I think I'll be wearing this skirt forever).  :)  I followed this tutorial on the blog Elle Apparel and it was really straight forward.  I wasn't able to use the elastic thread since I couldn't figure out how to get my machine to like it, so I just used a stretch stitch on my machine and it worked great.  Next time I will make the waist smaller because it tends to stretch and by the end of the day it felt like it was falling off.  The other thing I would change is to purchase a bit more fabric (I used 2 yards as it was) to make it a bit fuller in the bottom.  But I am thrilled with the skirt and so glad I made it. :)

This is the Dumpling Pouch Gwen made, isn't it darling?  For more details on how she did it, and to help her out with an informal survey about quilt colors, hop over to her blog.  And while you're there, wish her a Happy Birthday, since today is her real life birthday! :)
Thanks so much for stopping by our party today, and we hope to see you again tomorrow!
XOXO,
Amy

Teacher Appreciation Frame

When I went to SNAP there were many things I loved learning about and tons of great information.  But, the thing that struck me the most was the message given to us by the closing Key-note speaker, Matt Townsend.  You'll be hearing from him more here on the blog, because I think he has some really important things to say, and he's a lot funnier and smarter than I am.  One of the points he made about the power of blogging was encapsulated in this quote, "You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can't count the apples in a seed."  I changed the quote slightly for this art piece, but the meaning is the same.  (You can watch a short clip of his address, which includes the apple seed quote here)  I feel the same power applies to teaching.  You can quantify how many topics you have taught, and how many students have passed, but the real rewards of teaching can't be measured.

Using pages from a book, I created this dimensional apple to fit inside a $1 frame from Michaels, that I covered with scrapbook paper.  (I got this paper and ribbon from the American Crafts Warehouse sale, I just got an e-mail today that they have just opened an online store- so excited!!) 

I am learning that really more than money or rewards, most often, people just want to be told that they are doing a good job.  That you recognize their efforts and that they are appreciated for the work they are doing.  I hope these pieces of art will let my children's teachers know that the work they have done for my family this year is immeasurable and greatly appreciated.
xoxo,
Amy
Linked up to The 36th Avenue Party Time.  Also linked up to Topsy Turvy Tuesdays on I'm Topsy Turvy.