I'll Tumble For You

Show of hands-Who loves Tumblr?!  I know I'm not the only one raising my hand high!  Tumblr is like my lazy blog where I mostly just repost things that I love.  I can end up wasting a lot of time looking through Tumblr blogs, though.  There is pretty much everything imaginable, both good and bad, but I am lucky to follow people who tend to post really lovely and positive images and quotes, hilarious gifs and videos, and things that just sort of speak to me.  You know, those little images or comics that make you say, "Oh that's so me!".  You can find me on Tumblr here and here are some of my recent favorites-

The Smiling Goat

Inspiring Posts

dollasigns

Emilee

Self Care 101

It is so so important to take care of yourself, if you want to lead a happy and healthy life.  As simple as that sounds, it's so easy to forget in our sort of hectic and fast-paced lives.  I made this little reminder from a list that I made for myself in one of my journals.  I could add so many things to this list, but I thought I would keep this one limited to some of the most important items and those that apply to everyone.  Feel free to save this photo or print it out and carry it in your wallet or purse, tape it to your wall, or share it with a friend. Everyone needs a little reminder like this sometimes!

Vintage-Inspired Treat Boxes

While browsing eBay recently, I came across some vintage paper mache boxes.  I can't seem to find the actual listing anymore, but I saved a photo for reference.  I thought they were adorable and would be fun to recreate.  Here are the originals and the inspiration for a crafterevening with Heidi-

These were actually pretty easy to recreate and a lot of fun!  Besides some imagination, here is what you will need to make your own super cute versions of these vintage goodies-

You can find everything on the list at your local craft store, If you don't happen to hoard craft supplies like I tend to do, except for the spun cotton heads.  You can find a decent selection of new heads here or you can search for vintage ones on sites like Etsy and eBay.  I had some old wooden bead faces on hand, so I used those too.  If you choose to use Styrofoam balls for the head, you can use the spun cotton heads as inspiration for faces to paint or draw on.  I wish I had taken step by step photos, but I didn't, so bear with me as I list out the instructions.  Then I will show you my finished boxes!

If you are going to paint your heads and faces, you may want to do that first, so they can dry while you work on the other steps.  Otherwise, start by covering your boxes.  We used pretty scrapbook paper and ribbon to do so, just sort of using the box itself to measure how much we needed and then using hot glue for the ribbon and craft glue for the paper.  It's okay if the entire bottom part of your box isn't covered, because the lid will cover the very top.  I had some ribbon that looked too short, but worked perfectly.  You can also use pipe cleaners to trim the boxes.

To make the clowns from the inspiration photo, make a ruffle from crepe paper and attach it to the top of the box with hot glue.  You can use more than one layer and trim it do your desired size.  The clown's hats can be made from the scrapbook paper.  There are actually tons of templates online, but I am that moron that free hands it every time so that I am constantly trimming and none of my cones are the same size.  Just google "party hat template", shrink it to a smaller size, and print it out, if you don't want to make extra work for yourself.  Trim the hat by hot gluing a pipe cleaner around the bottom edge.  You can add a pom pom to the top, if you like.  Use hot glue to attach the hat to the head and the head to the ruffles on top of the box.  Voila!  That's it!

We went a bit of a different route with decorating some of our faces.  We used hot glue, sequins, and colored straight pins to fashion eyes, noses, and mouths.  One of my clowns also has pipe cleaner hair.  I think it's fun to just use whatever you have on hand.  Pom poms make good noses, especially big fluffy red ones!  You could also use googly eyes or small buttons.  Okay, so here are my finished boxes-

So they didn't turn out exactly like the original boxes, but I think they served as a good inspiration.  I really think these boxes would be so fun to make for party favors.  They could be filled with candy and made to match whatever colors or themes you were going for.  If you decide to make some, make sure to share the finished result!

Sweethearts

I whipped up what I thought was a pretty good sized batch of Valentine's Day themed doll faces, thinking I'd have enough to list on Instagram and have some leftover for my shop.  Guess I was wrong, because these cuties went pretty quickly!  If you don't follow me on Instagram, here is what I had to offer.  These should all be in their new homes by now.  I may make a few more this week and then it's on to some other ideas!

Girlpool

If I keep it up and only continue updating on Monday, I suppose this is going to become a music blog.  I love music and could probably solely write about that, but I really love sharing all sorts of stuff, so let's see if I can manage to keep up with posts!  Anyway, Girlpool sounds like something I would have listened to when I was about 14 while wearing my Doc Martens with little dresses, red painted lips, and baby barrettes in my hair.  That would have probably been about the time that I started my love affair with all things riot grrl and with powerful women.  It's still going strong, so Girlpool fits in quite nicely.  Enjoy!

I like guys called Ben.

Work In Progress

Bookworm

It's been awhile since I've shared any books I've read.  To be honest, I haven't read anything since getting a new 3DS game. Looking back at what I have read recently does get me kind of get me in the mood to read, though, so maybe I need to put the video games aside for awhile!  The four books I'm including this time are all part of a series and, with the exception of Hollow City, are the first of the series.  So hopefully I will have some sequels to review at a later time.  Happy reading!

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

I waited so patiently for this sequel, after just adoring Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children.  This second book takes place in a much darker time and although the same characters I loved are there, I just couldn't get into it.  I felt, at times, that the author was just trying to make it longer than it needed to be and it just sort of dragged on for me.  I struggled to finish this one and was disappointed that it just didn't live up to its predecessor.  There are lots of good reviews on Amazon, so maybe you'll feel differently.

The Ghost House by Helen Phifer

I really like ghost stories and anything supernatural related and it's common knowledge that I love all things British, so this book totally met my criteria.  It was one of those books that I couldn't stop reading at night, so I think I finished it in a total of three evenings.  The main character, Annie, finds a diary in an old home on her brother's property and gets drawn into the story of the diary's owner.  There's so much more to it than just that, though.  There are ghosts, a serial killer, and even some romance.  Check this one out!  

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Like the Miss Peregrine's series, Asylum uses actual old photographs that seem to fit the story.  In this book's case, the photos are from old mental hospitals.  I really enjoyed the incorporation of the photos and they added to the creepiness of the story.  This one takes place on a college campus where the one of the dorms was originally a psychiatric hospital.  Dan is there for a college prep program and, along with his new friends, decides to explore the off limits areas of the dorm.  In doing so, they unlock some secrets about the evil of the old hospital and some personal connections with past patients.  I did actually get a bit creeped out and I thought the story was really well written.  I have the sequel to this on my Kindle, but I haven't started it yet. 

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

I love magical stories like this one!  I won't give too much away, because I really do highly recommend this one.  Ceony goes to start her apprenticeship as a folder, a paper magician, at the home of Magician Emery Thane.  I wonder if the author used the same system as JK Rowling to come up with names, because there are some really good ones in this book.  I loved the details of the paper magic in this book and have actually started the sequel, The Glass Magician.  I'll let you know how I like that one later!

My Vintage Wishlist

I'm going to do my best to limit spending money on anything frivolous or unnecessary for the month of January.  If you ask my husband, he will say it's because we need to save for our next trip to Disney World. Cleaning and reorganizing my work space, though, made me realize that I just have a lot of stuff.  This is going to be a time of purging and using what I already have.  So while I'm not actually buying anything, I'm obviously still doing lots of browsing!  Here are some of the vintage items I find myself most often looking for.

dishes/Cathrineholm/charms

rattle/doll/toppers/face

A Random Playlist For A Random Monday

There isn't really any rhyme or reason to this playlist, just some songs I like.  Hope you enjoy them too. Happy Monday!

Resolution

Have any of you made resolutions for the new year?  I know it's sort of a cliche and I'm not certain that people do a great job at sticking to them, but I thought I would give it a go.  There's something I'm not always very good at.  I can be quite the harsh critic and I'm notorious for comparing myself to others and dwelling on the negative, instead of recognizing my accomplishments and positive attributes.  I'm also not always great at self care, things like exercising, eating well, and getting enough rest.  So this year, I will be kind to myself.  I like that this is vague and that is on purpose, because I want it to encompass a lot.  I want it to include a journey back to being healthy and physically in shape, giving myself compliments on things I often ignore when focusing on the negative, and taking time to do little things like paint my nails, enjoy a good book and a cup of tea.  I think as far as resolutions go, this is a pretty manageable one and, although it will sometimes be a challenge for me, I think I can stick to it!  Good luck sticking to yours!

Snow Day

We had our first decent snow on Tuesday.  It was lovely to look at, but wow, it has been incredibly cold ever since!  Even still, the boys wanted to play outside and ended up coming inside with the reddest little cheeks and noses.  They warmed up with hot cocoa with lots of marshmallows.  My office closed, so I got to stay home and enjoy some extra time with my little guys and with my craft room.  I also got in some good walks with Ralph and was able to snap some photos of our neighborhood blanketed in white.

Make Me A Doll Face

A few months ago, I had an Instagram contest where I asked people to show me their ideas for doll faces.  I randomly chose two winners to have their ideas made into reality.  With shop updates, craft show prep, and life in general, I pushed the giveaway aside until recently.  I really enjoyed creating these gals and they've gotten me wanting to get back to work on more doll faces!

Here are my two winning ideas!  I love that the winner on the left chose items that pretty much describe her.  It was fun making a doll face version of her!  The winner on the right wanted a bird's nest on her doll's head.  Cute, right?

Here are the finished faces!  How did I do?

Christmas Eve Rewind

Christmas Eve was so relaxed and fun that I wanted to share it everyone.  We went to my in-law's house early in the afternoon to exchange gifts and eat lunch, so we had the entire evening at home.  We worked on Christmas crafts, coloring ornaments and constructing houses out of craft foam, and baked the easiest delicious cookies.  I'm sure some baking purists would turn their nose up at cake mix cookies, but these were perfect for the boys to mostly make and we had everything we needed on hand.  I can't find the exact site we got our recipe from, it seems as though there are several variations.  Here is our recipe-

1 box of cake mix (We used French vanilla and devil's food cake)
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup of your choice of add ins (cinnamon chips and chocolate chips for us!)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, mix the ingredients together, drop spoonfuls of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.  I suppose you could use icing on these cookies or dust them with sprinkles or powdered sugar and really there are so many flavor options and combinations. The French vanilla and cinnamon were definitely a favorite and both cookies were so moist and soft!

Listen to the Man

I was looking up Sam Smith videos on YouTube, because I'm currently a little obsessed (and way late to the game!) with the soulful British singer, and I stumbled upon George Ezra.  This guy has a great voice!  You can hear quite a few of his songs on YouTube and it looks like he has released two EPs and, most recently, a full album.  I chose to share this video, because, duh, Ian McKellan!  Enjoy!