Saturday, September 25, 2010

Boo!! Another Ghost DIY!!

As much as I hate to see summer come to an end, it's that time of year again...

 Head over to the blog of Heidi Kenney (My Paper Crane) and get her cute tutorial for these little felt ghosts!
while you're there check out all her ADORABLE soft art!!
Have a fun fall weekend!!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Friday GOOD Finds

Hey check out this GOOD STUFF from etsy!!
There is a link to their store right under each picture...go see their other stuff- it's amazing!
Arm warmers!!

Pumpkin Brulee with Pistachio Butter Soap

Halloween Print

Wicked Gorgeous!!

Wool Monster (baby) slippers


Spooky Witches Hat

Amazing costume!!

and because I know you want to know what I wore today...
don't be jealous!!
T-shirt from "Sick for Cute"
and no, the Dr. did not forget to cut off my umbilical cord...it's the tie on my pants!
Don't worry, I'm only running in this outfit and in the privacy of my own home!!
Have a fabulous weekend!!
**baby hat drive cut-off date is coming soon...Oct 31st!**

Thursday, September 23, 2010

I have wet socks...

I HATE messes, hard to believe if you knew me in college or before!  I spent part of yesterday washing all the lids of the condiments in my fridge... shut up, I DID!
Today I cleaned my carpet in the living room and Darlings bedroom (thankfully the only area upstairs WITH carpet!). 
So now...my SOCKS ARE WET!!
and my front hall looks like this
see me waving at you?
Darling's room...
yes, that's me having a STROKE!!
stuff ON bed was stuff found UNDER bed...
Apparently she 
didn't read her chore chart, the one that says 
"Make Bed"
Anyway thanks to the devil.... errr, this guy:
I HAD to steam clean Darlings carpet...NEW CARPET!
Note to self: do NOT install new carpet and then get a dog, especially a YORKIE!!
Have a fabulous day, I'm off to RUN and then I REALLY hope to get in my studio while the carpet dries!!
don't forget the deadline for the baby hat drive is Oct 31, 2010!!
(see yesterday's post for ALL the details).
Email me at chinamommy_04@yahoo.com
for any questions or to let me know hats are coming my way!!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

DIY Halloween Ghost project!!

Let me start by saying I DID go to my running club Monday, let me also say it was cancelled... Yes, I am going back again next Monday because they ARE meeting and they ARE running....4 miles!  The guys says "you can run 4 miles can't ya?" and I said "I guess we'll see, won't we!".  I just got off the treadmill...i can do 2, how hard can 2 more be?
Anywhooo... moving on!  
The cheesecloth ghosts I promised!!  Darling and I worked on these last night and if you have little ones, or hyper ones, or you're PMSing... run 4 miles instead!
This turned out to not be so great for little ones.  Darling is 7 and pretty mature so she did ok, but it is MESSY thanks to liquid starch!
Grab your supplies and lay down a layer of newspaper or better yet a cheap plastic table cloth!
tp roles, liquid starch, foil, wire, small bowl, wire, wire cutters, cheesecloth, tape, pointy thing and white spray paint (yeah I added 3 items after we gave it a go!).
Take your foil and make a ball, then take another bigger piece of foil, wrap over the head and and pull it down to a point.  Darling loved the foil wadding, so this is the part kids can help with (unless you have PMS then just do the whole thing yourself or someone is going to get hurt!).
The long point will go down in your tp tube
then take your "pointy thing" and put a hole on each side of the tube
Feed a piece of wire through the hole (you may have to remove your foil and then re-wiggle it down in around the wire).
I found that it was best to bend the wire up and tape around the entire tube...
add some foil to the "arms"
At this point it IS best to spray paint the whole thing white, I found the cheesecloth covered better, but you do NOT have to, you'll just have to add more layers to cover the foil and the brown paper.  Trust me, you wanna spray it!
Now this is where it gets MESSY!
Pour the liquid starch into your bowl (not your bowel as I've been known to type-ha!).
Those plastic lunch meat dishes work perfectly!
Fill it about 1/3 to 1/2 full.
Take your cheese cloth and drape it from front to back to see how long you need to cut it to cover from the front, up over the head, and down the back.  You'll also need to cut about 4 smaller pieces to drape over the arms- however long you want it to be- NO rules with this craft, well, except:
**don't drink the starch, chew on the foil, or do this with kids if you have PMS!**
After you have your pieces cut into strips, make sure you peel it apart- the cheesecloth is very thin!
Dip the cheesecloth into the starch and pull it up between your 2 fingers to ring it out.  It's a bit tricky to spread this out once it's wet, but you CAN DO IT!!  Lay it from front to back.
It doesn't matter it it's a bit long, better than too short!!  It looks more ghostly that way!  See how long I did the arm pieces?  The more raggy they hang, the better, so don't spread it all out flat!  Perfectionists-RELAX!!
It IS best to do several thin layers of cheesecloth than to get lazy and use it without peeling it into single layers- trust me!
Now, after you've covered it with a couple layers, pinch the sides in to hide the TP roll, cover the arms and add a few more layers so it's ALL covered.  After this you'll want to set them on something to dry, a cookie sheet with wax paper or ceramic trays work great!  If you don't have a ceiling fan going or a small fan, you might want to let it dry between layers.  Personally once I got into that starch, I just wanted to finish it up!!
We are going to try a test run by adding some glitter and felt eyes... I'll post the final finished project when it is...
final and finished!!
Boo! 
IF you make these, send me a link and I'll add you to the next post!

a little plug about my BABY/KID HAT DRIVE

As most of you know, my daughter was adopted from China and I left a little piece of my heart there.  I'm collecting hats to keep the children and babies warm in the winter.  Many live in orphanages that are without heat.
1. make a baby hat, toddler hat, or kid sized hat 
(you can take the non-crafty way out and buy one if you must)
2. Send to:
David Shellenbarger
c/o chinamommy
146 E Main
Caledonia, MI 49316
3. I need them in my hot little hands BY Oct 31, 2010.
4. I'll take care of shipping them to CHINA this fall.
any questions- please feel free to email me!!
chinamommy@yahoo.com
and don't forget...



Monday, September 20, 2010

Fall Fashion 2010...

Yep, this is going to be short... REALLY short, but I've got to get downtown to the court house and try to squeeze some blood out of a turnip...
I love when you look up fall fashion 2010 and get this: sheer is in, underwear as outer wear, leather clothing is IN and cut-out clothing, then add in some velvet and military style and you've got me all worked up.  Isn't there a site out there for "Hey, I'm 40 (ok, 41) and I am a mom who wants to look hot, but not Pam Anderson hot, and not psycho like "leather cut-out" psycho....".  Throw a mom a bone, what the heck am I suppose to wear this winter?  I do want to share one trend that this northern-cold-hater is THRILLED about... SOCKS with heels and Knee socks with boots!!  


My feet are cold people- ALWAYS cold!  You will only see me barefoot when the temps rock 80+!
I believe this trend started last winter because you might remember, 
I gave it a go...
Any fantabulous fall fashion trends for those of you over 23?
Anything a MUST for your closet or have you just given up and are still sporting your velvet JLo jogging suit?
Speaking of velvet jogging suit...Tonight is my 1st running club run...
I'm nervous, I'll report back tomorrow if I don't end up at the ER, but if I do end up in the ER I'll be sure to take photos!!
Happy Monday and go put your socks on!!!!
and don't forget...
 BABY/KID HAT DRIVE
As most of you know, my daughter was adopted from China and I left a little piece of my heart there.  I'm collecting hats to keep the children and babies warm in the winter.  Many live in orphanages that are without heat.
1. make a baby hat, toddler hat, or kid sized hat 
(you can take the non-crafty way out and buy one if you must)
2. Send to:
David Shellenbarger
c/o chinamommy
146 E Main
Caledonia, MI 49316
3. I need them in my hot little hands BY Oct 31, 2010.
4. I'll take care of shipping them to CHINA this fall.
any questions- please feel free to email me!!
chinamommy@yahoo.com




Saturday, September 18, 2010

Baby Hat Drive for children in China...

a little plug about my BABY/KID HAT DRIVE
As most of you know, my daughter was adopted from China and I left a little piece of my heart there.  I'm collecting hats to keep the children and babies warm in the winter.  Many live in orphanages that are without heat.
1. make a baby hat, toddler hat, or kid sized hat 
(you can take the non-crafty way out and buy one if you must)
2. Send to:
David Shellenbarger
c/o chinamommy
146 E Main
Caledonia, MI 49316
3. I need them in my hot little hands BY Oct 31, 2010.
4. I'll take care of shipping them to CHINA this fall.
any questions- please feel free to email me!!
chinamommy@yahoo.com

Friday, September 17, 2010

What is happening to my SUMMER???

UGH!! Look at the tree in my front yard??
the turkeys in the back

The Mister's (almost) empty garden
The pumpkins

and pumpkin vines gone WILD!
A pumpkin fell off our porch last year, a few seeds got left behind and started to grow.  I pulled the plant out and threw it at the edge of one of my flower gardens...  It has TAKEN over!
Note to self: do NOT throw baby pumpkin plants anywhere NEAR flower beds, they will survive and go nuts.
It makes me sad to see the end of summer, but it makes me happy to see the beginning of fall fashion!
the little necklace clips on each side of the shirt!  this is GREAT for a little girl that doesn't like ANY think "scratchy".  She can't stand jewelry that "touches" her...
I've somehow failed her!!
Silly bands itch her wrists, necklaces pull the hair on the back of her neck, rings rub her finger...
Happy weekend friends and don't forget the deadline is approaching to send in baby/kid hats!
I need them by Oct 31st-Boo!
(I'll post all the info tomorrow)
Remember: they do NOT have to be HANDMADE!! 
(for you craft slackers...you know who you are!)

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Ugh, sometimes it's so confusing!!

I've wanted to give chinamommy an update for a LONG time and I don't mean just changing the background!  I want to use all those cute fonts and I want the set up to be different, but... I am elderly in the world of computers and technology!  I got a wonderful book:
I went to this site and got FREE FONTS (that are adorable!)
I got this big girl camera

made this cute strap

read tons of how-to's, tried to get my pictures loaded onto my mac, and freaked out because LOUD bagpipe "music" was playing on the tv in the background.
So instead of giving the blog a make-over, I made a Bento for Darling.
 this is ONLY the 1st little one I've put together, so as I gather more supplies (cause you know I WILL!)
I hope they'll be a bit more spectacular!
Oh yeah... the blog make-over!
Everything is just so hard for me to figure out and there are some fabulous tutorials out there but I just need to devote an entire day (week??) to doing NOTHING but learning this stuff!  I'm going to keep plugging away because I really do want to make this blog bigger, better, and, of course, CUTER!
Stayed tuned next week and I'll show you how to make this:
IF you're interested, go grab these supplies this weekend:
TP rolls, foil, small dish, wire cutters, thick wire, black felt (small amount for eyes/mouth), liquid starch and cheesecloth!
(and a can of white spray paint is really going to help!  after doing the 1st one last night, I'm thinking this will make things a LOT easier.)
See you next week with the how-to!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

yes, it's true

My brother is going to have a painting at ArtPrize also... well, he says he is.  You know those "artist types"...
Here is a link, you can check him out and see his "unfinished" painting.
You'll need to go to the above link and then find browse artists and type in the name:
John Myers
or maybe this link will work for you... it wouldn't for me as I was typing this in, but give it a try
 I know, I know... it's amazing!
but just think... that's in his mind!
beautiful and scary at the same time.
He was conceived under a full moon after my parents both consumed large amounts of chili, what can they say?

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Art prize and the bloated carcass of....well, of something!

The 2nd Annual ArtPrize is headed to Grand Rapids, MI again this year!!
Sept 22-Oct 10
A group at my Church has a huge painting in this years contest.
Our church is very involved with:
(link below)
This is a group helping people in Rwanda get clean drinking water.
Did you know 1 in 8 people do not have access to clean water? 
If you're going to be in GR for this event, head down to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and see this HUGE painting...
It's in the reflecting pool... you CAN'T miss it!
Head over to their website

We parked and walked through the downtown people watching and taking pictures.  As we were headed over the bridge I was snapping some pictures of the downtown.
Pretty hun?
Well, let me tell you, if you've got a crowd of 1,000 people and one dudes (cause it's always a dude, right ladies?) got his pants unzipped, I'M going to notice.  So... as I'm taking pictures I notice there is 1 spot in the Grand River that catches all the trash AND...
a bloated.....something or others?!
Unfortunately (or thankfully for some people), the head never bobbed to the top, so I wasn't sure if it was a dog or just a fryer chicken.
Whatever it was, the hair (feathers? fur?) had been brushed clean away.
And seriously, who is the %*#&%$ that is throwing plastic bottles in the river? Grrr!
Apparently I wasn't the only one that noticed 
So all, in all it was a GREAT day downtown!!
Bubble Tea
Rascals Races
and ART!!
After a fabulous day of art and bloated dead stuff the ragweed sought revenge on me... I spent the night with my head feeling like it was going to explode, but the memory of that carcass kept me going!
Happy Tuesday!!!
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