Friday, November 30, 2012

Someone Needs a Christmas Cookie



 
(Christmas card I made a few years ago and still my favorite)
 
 
Ah, it's Christmas season again and there is so much to love : eggnog, Christmas trees with twinkly lights,  decorations, both tasteful and tacky, spending time with family and friends , wrapping presents  and, yes, even shopping.   Nothing beats having that first morning cup of coffee, bathed in the glow of a  festive Christmas tree.  And the music !  Today I set my car radio to the all-Christmas radio station.  I love it all - the high-brow choirs and even multiple rounds of  "pa-rum-pa-pum pum".  If there's a some Elvis having a blue, blue Christmas, even better.


But apparently some of us are not in the holiday spirit yet.  A local woman made national headlines when she complained about the Salvation Army  bell ringers outside her work.  She called the police, stating that all the bell ringing was violating the city's noise ordinance and essentially driving her batty.  


Now if she had her knickers in a knot over Christmas stuff in stores before Halloween or contact-sport shopping or the over-the-top commercialism of Christmas, maybe I'd be sympathetic.    But the Salvation Army??  Give me a break!  Last year the bell-ringers collected $146.7 million dollars to help people with more to worry about than bell ringing.

 Let's be thankful we don't have to depend on the kindness of strangers.  And hum a few "pa-rum-pa-pum-pums" while you're at it. 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Enabler Alert - Do You Know About "Pick Your Plum?



Love getting great stuff for cheap?  You need to check out Pick Your Plum. They send out an email deal for crafty, baking and home deco stuff  every Monday-Friday.  Caution - she who hesitates is lost here - stuff moves really quickly and is only available for the day or sooner if it all sells out early.  Flat rate shipping charges are reasonable - so far the most I've paid is $2.95.

Yesterday I got these great Christmas Washi tapes for $1.95 a roll!





Here's how the company tells their mission:
"Have you ever glued your fingers together trying to put a project together? Stayed up all night just to finish that last project before your kids wake up? Gussied up your home just so the neighbors could gawk over your detail? Borrowed an idea from the store knowing you can make one too?

We have. We know. Join us.
Get it before your neighbor does:
  • We have limited supplies on some of the most swank supplies. We have agents out in the field who find killer deals on high quality products.
  • We delicately slap prime-o pricing on crafting, clothing, baking supplies, home decor and other fabulous finds. Stellar pricing. Cool.
  • We sell it 'til it's gone or 'til time is up.
  • You leave feeling like you just won Martha in a crafting contest.
  • The supplies arrive in 7-8 shipping days and you've just picked your 'plum'! Doesn't it feel good?
Sign up for Instant Alerts so you always know 'The Deal'. Don't blame us if you overdose. We only sell products we would use ourselves. We enjoy quality."

Sadly I am not on their payroll, just doing my part to keep the deals coming.  Enjoy!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Product Love


 
 
Hello.  My name is Deborah and I am a addicted to products.  Today was like a holiday for me - my November Birch Box came, and Ulta opened nearby.  I don't  wear much make-up,  but I l love any kind of lotion that promises the forever end to dry skin, nail polish and all the removers, conditioners and implements that go with the polishing, but most of all, I love hair products.   I believe all the advertising hype, so my bathroom and linen closet are full of purchases that shockingly haven't lived up to their promises. 
 
I love my Birch Box gift subscription from California Daughter.    What's not to like?  A box of products is delivered to my door every month.   I get to try all kinds of things I might not  would never try.  I rekindled my relationship with perfume, thanks to samples in my box.  I have fun stuff for my girls to try, plus  lots to take when traveling.  Here's this month's box:
 
 
 
Perfume, hair product, several moisturizers - whoo-eee!
 
Then off to the new Ulta store  Aisles and aisles of products, friendly staff who obviously have been trained to spot a product - addict!  There are hundreds of brands- the old stand-bys and some I'd never heard of before.  So what do I do?   I ask if they carry  a brand I don't see!  The salesclerk asks if it's a "premium brand - you know, expensive"?  When I say that it is on the pricey side, she announces, "well, then we don't carry it".  Curious, since they sell  Butter nail polish that goes for $35.00 a bottle.  Imagine that response isn't quite what the Ulta people would like!
 
 
New store openings are fun because of all the free stuff.  My only purchase was the Juicy Couture perfume (again, thanks to Birch Box) - all the rest was in my gift bag.  I can only hope it was accidental that that I got  two super-hold hairsprays !
 
I'm also a sucker for pretty packaging.  Metal hand cream tubes, funky graphics, vintage type and I'll buy whatever it is you're selling.  Like these moisturizing wipes from Gap:
 
 
Metal-ish wrapper, meadow full of flowers and type-writer font with wipes that promises to be moisturizing - sold!
 
Life is good - easy access to an abundance of products, right next to my other dealer - Barnes and Noble.


Sunday, November 4, 2012

Easy DIY Subway Sign


I finally made one of these signs that are all over Pinterest.  
 
 
 Start with a painted canvas; I found this one at Goodwill for $1.99 and worth every penny.
 
 
 
I wiped on acrylic metallic peridot paint over some of the white spaces to add some more color.
 
 
The hardest part is deciding on what words will work for the size of your canvas. Since mine is going down in the newly upgraded family room,  I wanted a beach theme and fiddled around until I found words that would fit. I got the two inch repositionable vinyl letters at Staples.
 
Run your fingers around the letters to make sure there are no air bubbles and that all the edges are stuck  down on the canvas.
 
 
 
I painted my canvas dark blue - it took 3 coats to cover the painting and even then I had to go over some spots after removing the letters. You can see some of the spots that need more paint.
 
It's a bit tricky to get the letters off without gouging up the paint.  It worked best to press a fingernail firmly into the corner of a letter and pull it a bit to start lifting off the letter.  I did get a few spots where the blue paint ooched under the letter, but the paint was easy to flick off with a craft knife. 
 
After a few touch-ups with the dark paint my sign is ready to hang.
 
 
This is a bit like magic - you're never quite sure what's going to show up under the letters.  I bet this technique could even save those 50s paint-by-numbers from eternal humiliation.



Friday, November 2, 2012

Le Road Trip - A Book Review

" Every road trip has its ups and downs, just like a love affair, or the stock market".
 
 
I just want to gush on and on about how much I loved this book.  What's not to like - a travel book about France, complete with whimsical illustrations and laugh-out-loud tales of the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of travel.  
 
This is not your usual travel book - no hotel or restaurant recommendations ("What, do I look like Rick Steves"?) and  no list of  must-see attractions.  It's about life, relationships (this was a honeymoon trip after all) and  being a traveler instead of just being a tourist.
 
Really,this isn't your usual anything book. It's a book with some serious eye-candy, written by someone who pays careful attention to every detail, starting with the hand-written font that she designed herself to the illustrations that complements her  journal-style writing.
 

 
Wine dribbles, font and cork art love
 
 
 
I'd love to be able to do watercolor sketches like this. (Who am I kidding - I'd just like to be able to sketch something recognizable).  Sketches this good mean that  I can look at this illustration of the Arc de Triomphe and remember standing in the middle of this busy street looking at this very view and it makes me  wish I were there again. 
 
 
 
I have so many pictures of doors and windows in Paris.  Just look at the details in this sketch.  This is why I'm drawn to these illustrated journal-type books; I love the intimacy of hand-drawn illustrations.
 
This is a fun book, with advice about how to pack ("packing light isn't cramming as much stuff as possible into a small bag"), what to wear ("Pack for the person you are on Saturday morning"),  and  how to make a traveler's scrapbook and a Band-Aid box boudoir. It's also a  laugh-out-loud account of travelling, full of funny bits that beg to be read out loud.
 
Now that I've discovered Vivian Swift, I'll be reading her other books, When Wanderers Cease to Roam and  A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put and following her blog.
 
What a find- a writer who shares my obsessions and can execute them in such grand style.


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