And the winner is…
which happens to be….
Lindsey, shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’ll put you in touch with Cristina so you can get your necklace.
Thanks to everyone that entered and HUGE thanks to Cristina Ashley Designs for the awesome giveaway!
I’m flying home today…see you all soon!
***Don’t forget to enter the Cristina Ashley Designs giveaway here***
Did you know Crap I’ve Made has a Flickr group? You can find the link at any time up on my menu bar under Crap You’ve Made. Go add your stuff! Please?
Projects from the Flickr group will be featured on Fridays.
And, there’s now a Flickr stream widget over in my left sidebar. Click on over from your reader and check that out.
If you haven’t already (she’s pretty much a legend), meet Melanie from The Crafty Cupboard.
She made this skirt, LOVE the fabrics, for her daughter using my Split Twirl Skirt Tutorial.
Plus, she’s giving away this freaking cute runner.
Go here to enter.
I’m off to Pittsburgh for the weekend. See you Monday!
****Don’t forget to enter the Cristina Ashley Designs giveaway here***
So, Macy had a district orchestra performance last night. They sent home a note regarding how they wanted the kids to dress.
“White shirt or blouse” (yes, they really used the word blouse)?
Check.
“Black or navy skirt or pants”?
Check.
Figuring out a way to still stand out from the crowd?
Check.
(Man I need to sweep the porch!)
You old timers may remember this post, where I knocked off a Ballard Designs detergent tin for about 1/6 the price.
That tin was a *little* blah, if I’m being honest…especially since my counter tops and walls are pretty much the same shade of boring.
I busted out the glossy red spray paint and look at it now:
I painted right over the top of the existing vinyl lettering. Then before I peeled it off I scored the edges with an Exacto knife and then pried up the corner with the point of a safety pin and peeled.
I love it and wish I’d done it ages ago!
***Don’t forget to enter the Cristina Ashley Designs giveaway here***
***Don’t forget to enter the Cristina Ashley Designs giveaway here***
There’s no purpose for this post other than the fact that I’m giddy about some baskets I picked up at Lowe’s this weekend.
How cute is the little chalkboard label? Under $10, too.
Would it be weird to get some for the kitchen? I’m thinking “potatoes” and “onions”….
*****GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*****
Let me introduce you to Cristina Ashley Designs. Cristina makes beautiful unique hand-stamped jewelry. She also blogs here. Her kids are darling and her pictures are great, so it’s worth a look for those 2 reasons alone!
This is her Sweetheart Necklace. I love the little heart detail!
More of a bracelet kind of girl? Check out the Sweet Loves Wide Cuff!
Not looking for something personalized? Cristina’s got that covered, too, with a selection of designer necklaces. This one is the Simple Joys Necklace.
So, what can you win? Cristina Ashley Designs is giving one lucky Crap I’ve Made reader their very own personalized (up to 3 tags/initials) Joys of My Heart Necklace!
How do you enter?
Click on over to Cristina Ashley Designs and have a look around. Come back here and leave a comment ON THIS POST with what your favorite item in her shop is.
Giveaway runs now through Sunday, May 16th at midnight!
On your mark, get set, ENTER!
Most of today’s post comes from a Facebook exchange with an old friend. It’s a little long, but it sums up my feelings better than anything else I could re-write.
He asked the following:
I’m happy to hear that you are loving being a mom. But you’ve shattered one of my ignorant hypotheses. I’ve talked to quite a few people who are staying home with kids, both male and female, who strike me as intelligent and intellectual. I get different variations on the same theme from them and from myself. It seems like each stay at home parent I’ve talked to believes in what he/she is doing and loves the kids and wants to do what’s right and best for them, but also is frustrated at the lack of a life. We’ve all had a similar thought that we’ve given up our lives for our kids. Each of us has a different sense of loss related to that sacrifice, and each of us has voluntarily made that sacrifice, but it’s a sentiment that I had thought must be pretty much universal. So I had come up with this hypothesis that perhaps the mothers who wanted to stay home with their kids and didn’t miss that "external life" outside the family weren’t as bright or as intellectually driven or something. So imagine my surprise when you shared your love of parenting! You’re clearly one of the bright ones. I remember you as one of the smartest friends I’ve had. So my ignorant, perhaps even bigoted, hypothesis is now in the trash heap. Now I’m seeking another idea about what makes a contented homemaker…
My response:
I think it’s a choice. Staying at home/becoming a parent (the two are so intertwined in my life that it’s difficult to separate them) was an awful transition for me. I had always made more than half of our income. I had a job that I enjoyed. I was finally back in school after putting my husband through school. And, *TMI warning*, the baby was not planned right then and maybe not ever. I cried for months. At my first prenatal appointment, my OB actually suggested abortion and adoption. THAT is how not thrilled I was about the whole thing.
When my baby was a month old, the very day I put my parents back on a plan for Florida, I broke my foot and my hand and was housebound on crutches for 6 weeks or so. (In retrospect, I was majorly depressed and I probably should have sought help. Have you ever tried carrying a newborn whilst on crutches? Im-freaking-possible.) I remember sitting there one day lamenting how much the whole thing sucked and I had this moment of clarity. I realized that this was my life for the next 20 years minimum and I had 2 choices. I could be miserable every day for 20 years, or I could learn to find joy. Oprah moment ahead:
I chose the joy.
Not gonna lie…at first it was a lot of effort and a lot of making conscious decisions. I’d find happiness in having a clean sink or showering before noon or whatever. We also used to do this thing before bed where we’d each take a turn saying what the best part of the day was (sort of like Dora the Explorer, don’t act like you don’t watch). It helped me be mindful of just how good I really had it.
To claim that it’s all sunshine and roses all the time would be absurd. Life throws trials in all of our paths! We’ve had our fair share…worse than some, better than others. And, I continue to choose the joy.
Happy Mother’s Day!
