Make it Monday

So my Monday only has 52 minutes left in it and I realized I never wrote a post for the first Make It Monday. Had a bit of a crazy weekend, which included a call Saturday night from the mom of the son Dart was spending the night with. He tripped and hit the corner of her coffee table, while she was cleaning the cut up, he passed out on her. We are heading to the doctor bright and early in the morning. I'm hoping they will be able to give us some answers as to why this is happening(this is the 2nd time in a little over a month that he has hit his head, not major blows and passed out).

I do want to share a few things I made last week. Right now I'm sketching ideas for cards I want to make for Mother's Day gifts. I am also working on editing pictures I took on Saturday for a very good friend at her son's First Communion.



I love reading and usually have several books going at once, therefore I need lots of bookmarks. These however were not made for me, made these for the PTA President at my sons' school who is leaving us after this year. Her family is avid readers and unfortunately she didn't get the bookmarks...her daughters stole them before she could even claim one.


If you are working on something right now, leave me a comment, I love seeing what others are crafting.

Mother's Day gift idea...

With Mother's Day just around the corner are you looking for something different for the women in your life that they will love and could even pass on to others? I think snail mail, especially of the happy kind is becoming a lost art. Part of the reason is email is so easy, but another I think is the cost of cards in a store, especially if you are sending them "just because". Why not give mom or the other women in your life a set of greeting cards? We can do themes of all kinds from traditional holidays to those just saying hi. With so many people trying to conquer clutter and in general have less stuff a set of greeting cards would be a wonderful gift.


Here's just a few cards I've made recently(gave them to a friend of mine and she almost lost them to her daughters).

A Day to Breathe

So today was the least busy day of the week. Had lunch with a friend at Chili's. LOVE there chips and salsa. I usually eat just that, but today I had something a little more. The Chicken Tortilla soup is really good, will have to have that again.

I'm still brewing some ideas for some weekly series type things to post on here. One I really think I want to do is "Make it Monday" where I will show either things I'm working on making or things I want to make at some point(because that list isn't long enough already). So hopefully Monday will be the beginning of that.

Just a peak of some things I've been making...

For the Reader in your life

So today ended up not as calm as I hoped it would be, but it was a great day. I had lunch with a very dear friend of mine at Chili's. My favorite place to eat. Love their chips and salsa. Although I came out of there feeling like I had eaten a Thanksgiving meal.

So for those of you who might have a mom or soon-to-be-graduate in your life here are some ideas for them:

Anyone who reads regularly knows you can never have enough bookmarks.




I usually try and get most of the books I read at the library. However there are a few books that I dearly love and know I will read again and those I do buy, but often times lend to others to read. These are just a fun way to make sure you get your book back. So easy to do and just adds a nice touch to the front of the book instead of just writing your name.


If you have a mom or graduate you know who would love these, please email me and we will get your order taken care of.

Sneak peek

I have lots of things to share that I've made over the last couple of days, but I am really tired. Tomorrow is a fairly calm day for me this week so I will be back to share all of it. However, I did want to leave you with this....



Getting excited to try some different things for graduation cards.

Happy Things

So the last 2 posts have been kind of downer posts so it's time for some happy things.

One of the biggest happy things for me right now is this...I was contacted last week about my new business Pink Owl Designs. I was floored that I was contacted and so excited. Trying to get a new business name, especially in the creative field is so hard and even more so when you are trying to do it frugally(free).

Other happy things are of course spring, although when we were creeping towards 90 a few days last week, I was not so happy. Not that I want the cold winter back, but I wanted Spring, say 70-75 degrees, not almost 90. We moved in November and where we are now has a several really large trees in the front yard and I am loving seeing the leaves on the trees and the shade they are providing. I am loving the kids being outside too. Although it is difficult when they want to stay out and it's time to come in and get ready for bed. Will be glad when summer comes and they can stay out longer.



Gift tag/card

I'm also happily busy creating. I had a friend call and see if I would be willing to make some gift tag/cards for her daughters school for the teachers. I was so flattered that she thought of me. I created 24 cards for her and she said all the teachers and anyone else who saw them loved them. Shortly after she contacted me I had a lady email me requesting me to address envelopes for her mother's memorial service. She said she and her sister both had horrible handwriting and they wanted pretty handwriting for these envelopes. I have always been fascinated with handwriting and am always experiencing with my handwriting so I was thrilled with this task. I also created 115 cards for my son's school for the volunteer breakfast. That was a ton of cards to do in a matter of about 3 days. I didn't get a picture of it, but will when I get my card at the breakfast on Friday. I'm now working on a gift for our outgoing PTA President. I'm not happy that this is her last year at our school, but am happily creating her gift. I can't wait to be able to take pictures of it to share here.

I have a busy week coming up, but have some ideas for different posts so I will be back this week with lots more. Brewing a few ideas for some weekly posts based on some kind of theme. This week I'm also planning to participate in Ali Edward's My Week in the Life Project I have always wanted to try this, but never have. I am excited to give it a try. We have a very busy week this week with baseball practice 2 nights, PTA meeting one night, a field trip for Audrey, volunteer breakfast and of course all the normal life stuff. Great week for me to remember our life for one week.

Lots going on....

I can't believe November was the last time I updated this. Life got busy over the Holidays of course and then I spent some time reflecting and thinking about whether or not I wanted to continue this pursuit. After some time and researching I knew that for me right now this is where my heart is. When I sit at my table and create something I feel very much alive and happy.


Gift tags made for Columbia Independent School Teacher Appreciation Week

I am working to get some products made to start an etsy store, but lately I've been working on stuff for a friend for her daughters school and on cards for my sons school. My hope is that now that I know what direction I am going in I can update this a few times a week. I have a few projects on my table right now; one being a gift for a friend, a stack of envelopes to address for someone because she doesn't like her handwriting, and of course items for my store.



Made this card for my brother for his birthday. He LOVED the middle candle!


I did want to share this though, last week I was contacted by a MU Journalism student about doing an article about Pink Owl Design(which may be how you found me). I was so excited about it. In case you didn't see it, here is the link for it...Pink Owl Design Article

I will be back in the next day or so to share some more stuff. Gotta get working on Mother's Day, Graduation, and Wedding stuff. Hard to believe April is half over. Time really needs to slow down.

My Daddy

24 years....24 years ago my daddy passed away. I will never forgot the day. I was only 9 years old, but I will never forget. Oh how I wish I could. I remember waking up that morning and my Aunt Dawn being there. She said my mom was at the hospital and that my grandma(my dad's mom) and my grandma and grandpa(my mom's parents) were coming. I went to school and all was well. Came home and my mom wasn't there. She finally came home and took me in the house and sat down on the couch and told me and Wadsie(our dog) that dad had gone to heaven to be with Grandpa Duffy(his dad). I don't remember crying. I remember going to the funeral home to see him. I remember the funeral, "Take me Out to the Ballgame" was played at the end. I remember going back to the grave site later that day and my mom and aunts cracking up. I remember the people being at our house. I remember the food, omg! the food was unreal. I remember my daddy being buried in exactly what would have made him happy, his Kansas City Royals 1985 World Series T-Shirt and jeans.


found on flickr by WisDoc

My dad was a baseball FANATIC! He had dreams like most American boys do of being a professional baseball player, except that he wrote an article that was published in the paper about his dream. He was a Yankees fan, but that was when the Yankees weren't the Yankees they aren't today. He was a Royals fan. But most of all he was a baseball fan. He had this game that he made up that he would play with his baseball cards. He would sit in our living room, with his card table up, usually a bowl of radishes or some other veggie, a Tab pop(he was diabetic) and be watching a baseball game and playing his baseball game. I wish every single day that he could have experienced baseball today. With the Fantasy game, my mom would have been a baseball widow for sure. He would have been glued to ESPN, ESPN.com, and every other baseball site out there. I can only imagine the cell phone he would have had, I'm sure his ringtone would have been "Take me out to the Ballgame." His screen saver on his computer some baseball stadium. He would have switched cable companies if the one he subscribed to didn't offer the MLB Network. He would have loved every second of it. I wish he could have lived to see the Red Sox finally win a World Series, to see George Brett kiss home plate in his final home game, to see the wonder that is Albert Pujols, Zack Grienke, and even Derek Jeter. He would have hated the steroid mess, the 94 strike, a World Series game being suspended in the middle of a game because of weather, and I'm pretty sure the New York Yankees.

I am also pretty sure that at some point a family vacation would have involved a trip to Cooperstown to see the Hall of Fame, The Field of Dreams(for him it would have been Heaven), and a tour of the ESPN campus. He would have marveled at the shrines called stadiums today.

My dad had a passion for baseball like no one else. He handed it down to me, and I hope I'm handing it down to my son. To this day I can still stop and watch a baseball game, doesn't matter who's playing, if it involves 9 men on the field, with 3 bases, home plate, a bat and a ball I will watch. People complain about the game being too long, but for me I'm always sad to see it end. There is something magical to me about the game, the sound of the bat hitting the ball, the roar of the crowd as a guy stretches a double into a triple, a walk off home-run and just knowing that at any given time in the game anything can change. Baseball is one of the few sports where being down by 7 at the end of the game isn't a death sentence. One ball up the middle between the short stop and the 2nd baseman can change everything. In what other sport can a player have a "perfect game"?

Struggles

We all have struggles in life, some more than others or so it seems. One of my struggles has been and still is my weight. It is something I have struggled with pretty much for as long as I can remember. I was always the fat girl in the group of friends. I'm sure I was more aware or cared more about it than my friends did because through high school I had some amazing friends and am still friends with most of them. But I was still the fat girl, the one all my pretty friends would call when they got in a fight with their boyfriend because they knew I was "a great listener." I could always make them feel better. As soon as I was done talking to them I usually did one of two things. 1. Cry or 2. Eat. It's funny that that's what I still do. Usually in that order still. Every new year I made a resolution that I would lose weight. I usually did great for the first month or so and then like always I felt I wasn't losing fast enough and so I would give up. Every summer I would tell myself when school started then next fall I would be skinnier. Always started the same size or a size bigger. I dreaded going back to school shopping and still am not a fan of clothes shopping because nothing fits. I spent most Friday and Saturday nights at home or working because I never had a date. I had lots of friends that were male, but not many "boy friends", guys preferred to hang out with me because I was a huge sports fan and they could talk sports with me and I knew what I was talking about. I was a great break from their girl friends who didn't know sports like I did. Yay, that made me feel good. I figured I would just always be single and while I'm not single anymore, I still struggle with the same feelings I always have. Not good enough, not worth caring about myself enough to take care of myself.

So what started this post tonight? Biggest Loser. This is the first season we have ever watched. Tonight watching Drea talk to Bob about how she felt, all I could think is "That's Me!!" I never wanted to get to close to people because I didn't feel I deserved it. I've always felt like I didn't deserve to be loved. I know it shouldn't be based on appearance, but let's fact it looks are a HUGE thing in our society.

My struggles with my weight spill over into other areas of my life as well. I feel bad about showing things I've created because I never feel like they are good enough. I feel extremely embarrassed when someone complements me on something as well. I know I shouldn't but, it is a HUGE struggle for me.

I know I have some things from my past that make this struggle even harder. Losing my dad when I was 9 years old is something I still struggle with to this day. I still feel some I don't know what kind of feelings towards my mom about the fact that she didn't wake me up the night before he died when the hospital called to let her know he was really struggling. I was awake, but didn't let her know because I didn't know what the phone call was about. I just remember waking up the next day and my aunt being at my house. Why I haven't told her I don't know. It's not like she'd be mad at me. I think it all goes back to confidence. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this blog, so I'm pretty safe saying it here. In fact this is the first time I've said it to anyone other than in my head or in a journal.

So this was a lot of writing and if you are still with me, bless you. I know it's more of a down post than I'd like this blog to be, but it is life and life is about ups and downs and most of life's things play a roll in our passions in some way. Also some of it was just a need to get it out. Maybe it will help one of you with a struggle in your life. Sometimes it's nice to know that someone else in life is struggling just the same as we are.